A pill that's been in the works since the Carter administration has changed the math on one of the deadliest cancers. In a study of 500 people with advanced pancreatic cancer whose disease had already worsened after one round of treatment, those who took the experimental drug daraxonrasib lived a median 13.2 months, compared with 6.6 months on standard chemotherapy, the Washington Post reports. The drug also delayed tumor growth for about 7.2 months, double the 3.6 months seen with chemo, according to data unveiled Sunday at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting and published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The once-"undruggable" target is KRAS, a gene that fuels most pancreatic cancers and some lung and colorectal cancers. Oncologists called the findings a landmark, though they stress the pill is not a cure and resistance is expected. Side effects, including gastrointestinal issues and rashes, can be substantial but may be easier to live with than chemotherapy for some patients. The developer, Revolution Medicines, is submitting data to regulators through a rolling process and said it's ready to launch if the FDA signs off. The agency has already widened access while it reviews the drug. Researchers see the results as a starting point for combination therapies aimed at pushing survival further.
Some experts were enthusiastic to the point of being emotional. Dr. Rachna Shroff of the University of Arizona Cancer Center in Tucson said she "started crying tears of joy" when she read the preliminary results in April, per NBC News. Dr. Zev Wainberg of UCLA Health said all of his patients with advanced pancreatic cancer chose to take an experimental medication in the trial over another round of chemotherapy. "I put a lot of patients on the chemo arm, and none of them are alive anymore," he said. "It's one of the most emotional studies I've ever been a part of."
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