Sorafenib is used to treat advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC; a type of cancer that begins in the kidneys). Sorafenib is also used to treat hepatocellular carcinoma (a type of liver cancer) that cannot be treated with surgery and a certain type of thyroid cancer that has spread to other parts of the body and cannot be treated with radioactive iodine. Sorafenib is in a class of medications called kinase inhibitors.