In a major breakthrough for pancreatic cancer treatment, Revolution Medicines Inc has developed a drug called daraxonrasib that not only delays painful symptoms for months but also significantly extends survival, according to new data presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting in Chicago, according to Bloomberg report.
While the drug is not a cure, researchers say it could meaningfully improve both the length and quality of life for patients with advanced disease.
Revolution Medicines had previously revealed that daraxonrasib extended median survival to 13.2 months in a late-stage clinical trial. On Sunday, oncologists unveiled full results showing the benefit was consistent across patients with different genetic mutations driving tumour growth.
Daraxonrasib fights the ‘dangerous protein’ which causes tumour growth
Daraxonrasib is among the first drugs to broadly and effectively target RAS, a protein linked to tumour growth that is mutated in most pancreatic cancers.
Scientists had struggled for decades to develop treatments against all forms of the protein until Revolution Medicines devised an innovative “molecular glue” approach that effectively shuts down the cancer-driving target, said a Bloomberg report.
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Patients can live longer with daraxonrasib
The study also found that patients taking daraxonrasib went more than nine months before cancer-related symptoms worsened, compared with less than four months among those receiving chemotherapy.
Tumours, on average, began growing significantly again after about seven months.
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“For most people it is a significantly more comfortable experience than chemotherapy,” study co-author Eileen O’Reilly, a medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York said.
Because daraxonrasib is a once-daily pill, patients can spend more time at home with their families instead of making frequent visits to infusion centres for treatment.
The drug does have side effects, including rashes and mouth sores. However, doctors said these were usually manageable with antibiotics and topical treatments, and only rarely caused patients to stop treatment altogether.