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An experimental pill called daraxonrasib has more than doubled survival times for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer, according to clinical trial results published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Researchers presented the data at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago, marking a major development for treating one of the world’s deadliest malignancies.
Clinical Trial Results and Patient Outcomes
The Phase 3 clinical trial evaluated 500 patients who had already undergone at least one unsuccessful round of traditional chemotherapy. According to the study data, patients who received daraxonrasib experienced a median survival time of roughly 13 months, compared to less than seven months for patients given standard chemotherapy. Furthermore, the once-a-day pill halted or reversed tumor progression by nearly a third, whereas standard chemotherapy achieved a 10 percent control rate.
Dr. Brian Wolpin of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute served as the trial’s principal investigator. According to Reuters, Dr. Wolpin stated that the findings will change how scientists, clinicians, and patients think about treatment for pancreatic cancer.
Dr. Jennifer Knox, a medical oncologist specializing in pancreatic cancer at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto, described the treatment to CBC News as a major breakthrough, noting that prior oncological advancements had largely failed to impact pancreatic cancer.
Targeting the KRAS Gene Mutation
Daraxonrasib works by targeting a faulty protein that drives unchecked tumor growth. According to medical experts at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting, more than nine in 10 pancreatic cancer cases are driven by a mutation in the KRAS gene. This mutation acts as a stuck on-off switch, producing an abnormal protein that continuously signals cells to multiply.
Dr. Bishal Gyawali, an associate professor at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, told CBC News that targeting this foundational mutation for the first time marks a radical shift in cancer care. While acknowledging that the drug remains a second-line treatment rather than a cure, Dr. Gyawali called the survival outcomes remarkable for such a lethal disease.
Expanded Access and Next Steps
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently granted the drug’s manufacturer, Redwood, California-based Revolution Medicines, permission to supply the medication to certain patients through an expanded access regulatory pathway. According to Dr. Ardaman Shergill, a University of Chicago oncologist who oversaw the institution’s participation in the global study, patients with previously treated metastatic pancreatic cancer are eligible to receive the medication.
Dr. Shergill told the Chicago Sun-Times that the experimental drug provides patients with 13 additional months of life on average, offering survival levels previously unseen in advanced cases. The drug requires full FDA approval before it becomes widely available, a milestone clinical researchers anticipate reaching by late summer or fall.
Researchers also plan to evaluate daraxonrasib in earlier stages of the disease. According to Dr. Wolpin, testing the drug earlier might allow a larger share of patients to qualify for surgical intervention.
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