Experimental pill promises new hope for deadly pancreatic cancer

Washington: A novel pill helped people with advanced pancreatic cancer live longer, researchers reported Sunday, raising hopes of long-needed better treatments for one of the deadliest types of cancer. "While not curing the cancer, it is a large step forward," said Dr Zev Wainberg, of the University of California, Los Angeles, who helped lead the study.

The drug is called daraxonrasib and it blocks a mutated protein that fuels tumour growth in more than 90% of pancreatic cancer cases - a target that had eluded treatment for decades.

The daily pills nearly doubled survival time, with fewer severe side effects, in a study that randomly assigned the experimental drug or more chemotherapy to 500 patients whose metastatic, or spreading, cancer had quit responding to prior treatment. The findings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented Sunday at the American Society for Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago.

Those taking daraxonrasib lived for a median of 13.2 months compared with 6.7 months for chemotherapy recipients. While that may seem like a small improvement, Wainberg said it marked the first drug to show a substantial advantage over chemotherapy.

The pills' effects eventually wane but recipients used them for significantly longer than the comparison group stayed on chemotherapy, reporting less pain and a better quality of life as their tumours shrank. Many still were using the drug after the data was analysed, which Wainberg said means the survival gap may widen as researchers track them.

Dr Brian Wolpin, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, presented the findings on Sunday. He said the drug should become "a new standard of care" for previously treated metastatic pancreatic cancer, adding that researchers also will explore its use earlier in the disease, including to see if tumour shrinkage might let more patients qualify for surgery. Side effects most likely to affect pill usage were a rash that can be severe and mouth sores, he said.

Maker Revolution Medicines funded the study and the Food and Drug Administration plans to expedite review of the drug. Meanwhile, the agency is allowing what's called "expanded access" to the experimental drug for patients who meet certain criteria. The drug garnered public attention when former US senator Ben Sasse described on "60 Minutes" how he's had less pain while taking it. Oncologists are being flooded with requests as the special access program gets started.

Pancreatic cancer is among the most deadly forms because it's hard to detect. The American Cancer Society estimates about 67,000 new cases will be diagnosed in the US this year. Unlike with other cancers that have benefitted from a variety of chemotherapy alternatives, pancreatic cancer has been harder to tackle. AP
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