Experimental drug doubles survival time in advanced pancreatic cancer trial
Clinical trial shows daraxonrasib pill nearly doubled survival time for patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer compared to chemotherapy.
An experimental drug called daraxonrasib nearly doubled survival time for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer in a clinical trial, researchers reported Sunday at the American Society for Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago.
The study randomly assigned 500 patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer that had stopped responding to prior treatment to receive either the daily pill or additional chemotherapy. Patients taking daraxonrasib lived for a median of 13.2 months compared with 6.7 months for those receiving chemotherapy, according to findings published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The drug targets mutations in the KRAS gene that fuel tumor growth in more than 90% of pancreatic cancer cases. These mutations had long been considered "undruggable" due to structural challenges, but daraxonrasib uses what researchers describe as molecular glue to bind with multiple KRAS subtypes. Patients taking the drug also reported less pain and better quality of life as their tumors shrank.
Dr. Zev Wainberg of UCLA, who helped lead the study, said this marked the first drug to show substantial advantage over chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer. Side effects most likely to affect pill usage included severe rash and mouth sores, though patients generally stayed on the treatment longer than the chemotherapy comparison group.
Pancreatic cancer is among the deadliest cancer types, with a five-year survival rate of 13%. The American Cancer Society estimates about 67,000 new cases will be diagnosed in the U.S. this year and more than 52,000 people will die from the disease. The cancer is particularly challenging because it's difficult to detect before spreading to other organs.
Revolution Medicines, the drug's maker, funded the study. The FDA plans to expedite review of daraxonrasib and is allowing expanded access to the experimental drug for patients meeting certain criteria. Researchers said the drug should become a new standard of care for previously treated metastatic pancreatic cancer and plan to explore its use earlier in the disease.