A daily pill has been shown to double survival time for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer, according to clinical trial results presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (Asco) annual meeting in Chicago. Experts have hailed the drug, daraxonrasib, as a 'gamechanger' and one of the biggest breakthroughs in decades for the world's deadliest cancer.
The trial involved 500 patients with pancreatic cancer that had spread. Those taking daraxonrasib lived an average of 13.2 months, compared with 6.6 to 6.7 months for patients receiving chemotherapy. The drug also had fewer side-effects than chemotherapy.
Daraxonrasib works by targeting the Kras protein, which fuels nearly all pancreatic cancers. It acts as a Ras(On) multi-selective inhibitor, gluing molecules together to shut down Kras, regardless of the specific mutation. More than 90% of patients with the most common form of pancreatic cancer have a Kras mutation.
Dr Rachna Shroff, chief of oncology at the University of Arizona Cancer Center, described the results as 'landscape-changing' and 'unprecedented'. She said she wept upon reading them. Dr Julie Gralow, Asco's chief medical officer, called the drug a 'gamechanger' and a 'grand slam'.
UK charities have also welcomed the findings. Paula Hanford, chief executive of Pancreatic Cancer Action, said it was one of the most significant treatment developments she had ever seen. Anna Jewell of Pancreatic Cancer UK stressed the need to ensure such drugs are made available to patients, noting that half of all people with pancreatic cancer die within three months of diagnosis.
