Experts hail a major breakthrough after trial results transform advanced pancreatic cancer outlook

A once-daily pill has shown the potential to dramatically extend survival for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer, in what experts are calling one of the most significant breakthroughs in cancer treatment in decades.

The drug, known as daraxonrasib, doubled survival times in a major clinical trial involving 500 patients whose pancreatic cancer had already spread. Researchers presented the findings at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago, where specialists described the results as potentially transformative.

Pancreatic cancer remains one of the deadliest forms of the disease, with limited treatment options and survival rates that have stubbornly remained low for years. Many patients only receive a diagnosis after the cancer has advanced, reducing the chances of successful treatment.

Against that grim backdrop, the trial results have sparked fresh optimism.

Patients treated with daraxonrasib lived for an average of 13.2 months. By comparison, those receiving chemotherapy survived for between 6.6 and 6.7 months, according to the study findings.

Researchers also reported that patients taking the pill experienced fewer side effects than those undergoing chemotherapy treatment.

Cancer experts attending the conference responded with unusually strong praise.

Dr Rachna Shroff, chief of oncology at the University of Arizona Cancer Centre and an expert in gastrointestinal cancers who was not involved in the research, described the results as “landscape-changing”.

She said the survival outcomes represented something rarely seen in pancreatic cancer treatment.

Shroff revealed that she became emotional after reviewing the data, recalling that she cried while working in the clinic because of what the findings could mean for patients battling the disease.

Dr Julie Gralow, chief medical officer and executive vice-president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, also praised the trial. Although she had no role in the research, she described the treatment as a “game-changer”, adding that some had labelled the study a “home run”, while she viewed it as “a grand slam”.

Daraxonrasib works by targeting Kras, a protein that fuels nearly all pancreatic cancers.

The protein belongs to the Ras family of genes, which can drive cancer growth by continuously signalling cells to grow and divide when they should not. Those signals can allow cancers to spread aggressively through the body.

More than 90 per cent of patients with the most common form of pancreatic cancer, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, carry a mutation involving the Kras gene. This mutation produces an overactive protein that helps power tumour growth.

Daraxonrasib belongs to a newer class of medicines known as Ras(On) multi-selective inhibitors. The drug is designed to shut down the Kras protein and block cancer growth regardless of the specific Kras variant involved.

Experts have long viewed targeting Kras as one of cancer research’s greatest challenges.

Shroff described the effort to target Kras as the “holy grail” of treatment development, particularly in pancreatic cancer, because of the protein’s central role in driving the disease.

She said the latest findings marked proof that directly targeting Kras in pancreatic cancer could be both practical and effective.

Patient advocates and cancer organisations also welcomed the announcement.

Paula Hanford, chief executive of Pancreatic Cancer Action, described the trial as one of the most important treatment developments she had seen.

She said pancreatic cancer patients had endured devastatingly limited treatment choices for far too long, making the prospect of nearly doubling survival time profoundly encouraging for patients and their families.

Anna Jewell, director of services, research and innovation at Pancreatic Cancer UK, also called the findings exciting.

She said the treatment had given patients valuable extra time with loved ones by blocking the activity of Kras mutations.

However, both advocates stressed that access would become the next major challenge.

Jewell noted that roughly half of pancreatic cancer patients die within three months of diagnosis and urged efforts to ensure promising therapies reach those who need them.

Researchers in Chicago also highlighted wider possibilities beyond pancreatic cancer. Because Ras genes play a role in other forms of the disease, similar medicines are now being tested for lung and colon cancers, raising hopes that this emerging class of drugs could influence treatment far beyond a single diagnosis.