A New Path for Pancreatic Cancer, the 'Cancer of Death'... Oral Drug That Doubled Survival Approved in the U.S.

[Financial News] An oral treatment that nearly doubled the survival time of patients with pancreatic cancer, one of the most difficult cancers to treat, compared with existing chemotherapy has been approved in the United States. As a targeted therapy that directly attacks KRAS proto-oncogene, GTPase, a key driver of cancer cell growth, the approval is being seen as a turning point for pancreatic cancer treatment, where options have long been limited.
According to The Washington Post (WP) on the 26th local time, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved RASONQUE, an oral pancreatic cancer treatment developed by Revolution Medicines.
In a clinical trial involving 500 adults with metastatic pancreatic cancer who had previously received treatment, the median survival time in the Daraxonrasib group was 13.2 months. That was nearly twice as long as the 6.7 months seen in patients who received conventional chemotherapy.
Daraxonrasib targets KRAS proto-oncogene, GTPase, a gene involved in cell growth. When KRAS mutates, it promotes cancer cell proliferation and is considered a major cause of several cancers, including pancreatic cancer. For years, however, it was regarded as a target that was difficult to drug.
Daraxonrasib blocks cancer cell growth by inhibiting the activity of the protein produced by KRAS. Brian M. Wolpin, the lead investigator of the phase 3 trial and head of the Hale Family Center for Pancreatic Cancer Research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, explained, "The biggest difference from past treatments is that it directly targets the underlying biological mechanism of the disease."
Unlike conventional chemotherapy, which requires patients to receive intravenous infusions at a hospital for hours, it can be taken as a daily pill, reducing the treatment burden for patients.
WP reported that "when the clinical results were unveiled at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting earlier this year, attendees rose to their feet in applause, and some were moved to tears." Jad Chahoud, chief scientific and innovation officer at Orlando Health Cancer Institute, called it a "game-changing treatment" for pancreatic cancer patients.
Pancreatic cancer is difficult to detect early, and many cases are diagnosed only after the disease has already spread, leaving few treatment options. Only about 14% of patients survive five years or longer after diagnosis. Clinical trials are also under way to test Daraxonrasib for lung cancer, raising expectations that its use may expand to other cancers as well.

[email protected] Kim Kyung-min Reporter