A “gamechanger” new pill could double survival time in patients with the deadliest form of cancer, according to the results of a clinical trial.
Pancreatic cancer is difficult to treat as it is often found late and more than half of patients are only diagnosed after it has spread.
However, a new smart drug called Daraxonrasib could dramatically improve how long patients live after a diagnosis.
How new pill could transform cancer treatment
Daraxonrasib increased the survival time of patients with pancreatic cancer to an average of 13.2 months, compared to 6.6 and 6.7 months for patients who had chemotherapy, the trial found.
Led by researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, the trial involved 500 patients, all of whom had pancreatic cancer that had spread.
A total of 248 patients were given Daraxonrasib and 252 were given chemotherapy.
Alongside improving life expectancy, the pill, which patients take daily, was also found to have fewer side effects than chemotherapy.
Daraxonrasib works by locking onto the mutated Kras gene, which is found in more than nine in 10 pancreatic tumours and continuously signals cancer cells to grow.
The charity Pancreatic Cancer UK called Kras inhibitors “an exciting new generation of targeted therapies”.
Rather than broadly attacking fast-growing cells, like chemotherapy does, the treatment offers a more targeted approach that only blocks the activity of Kras genes.
Kras is part of a family of genes that also fuel other types of cancers, leading to hopes that the development could lead to breakthroughs elsewhere.
When will it become available on the NHS?
The developer of the drug, Revolution Medicines, has plans for more trials in the US before seeking regulatory approval for wider use.
In the UK, the drug is only being used in a clinical trial for people who have had surgery and whose cancer has not come back.
If results remain promising, the drug will go through the regulatory approval process in the UK, a process that could take years.
Pancreatic cancer is among deadliest
There are around 11,500 new pancreatic cancer cases reported in the UK each year, which makes it the 10th most common type of cancer.
However, pancreatic cancer has one of the lowest survival rates, with just over 5 per cent surviving their cancer for five years or more. Over the last decade, pancreatic cancer rates have increased by more than 7 per cent and are projected to increase further.
Researchers and charities welcomed the findings from the new trial.
Anna Jewell, director of services, research and innovation at Pancreatic Cancer UK, said: “These new treatments targeting Kras mutations are some of the most exciting developments we have seen in pancreatic cancer for a very long time.”
She added: “We now need to ensure that these clinical trials are available in the UK, and that crucially these new treatment types are fast-tracked for approval.”
