Dr. Eileen O’Reilly, MD, a gastrointestinal medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, explains that the reason pancreatic cancer is so fatal is that symptoms don’t tend to start until the cancer has progressed and spread.
Related: Woman Loses Pancreas, Spleen, Gallbladder and Part of Her Lung, But Never Loses Hope
Pancreatic cancer treatment is on the cusp of improving greatly. Recently, results from a groundbreaking study showed that an oral pill called daraxonrasib doubles the survival rate for advanced pancreatic cancer. It’s the most exciting advancement ever for pancreatic cancer treatment.
Related: Pancreatic Cancer Patient Shares Her Top Four Strategies for Coping With Her 'Scary' Diagnosis and Treatment
MementoJpeg/Getty Images
Dr. O’Reilly, who is the lead author of the study on daraxonrasib, explains that the drug—which first started human clinical trials in 2022—works by targeting a mutation in the KRAS gene, which is present in the vast majority of people with pancreatic cancer. “The KRAS gene is involved in growth and metastasis [cancer spreading] and it’s generally responsible for the badness of pancreatic cancer,” she tells Parade.
“In pancreatic cancer, the KRAS gene is switched on and is in an activated state. This activated state causes cancer growth and spreading,” Dr. O’Reilly says, explaining that daraxonrasib switches off the KRAS gene, which stops the cancer from growing or spreading.
Daraxonrasib is an oral pill taken three times a day. The research, which was published in The New England Journal of Medicine, found that people with pancreatic cancer who took the drug had an average survival time of 13 months, compared to a survival time of six months for people who were treated with chemotherapy.
When Will the Drug Become Available?
While the study results are exciting, a few more steps still have to happen before daraxonrasib becomes available to patients with pancreatic cancer. Dr. O’Reilly explains that the Food and Drug Administration still has to review the data and approve the drug. “Our hope is that they will do this in the coming months,” she says.
Both oncologists emphasize that the development of daraxonrasib is not the end of pancreatic cancer treatment developments; it’s a new beginning. While it’s exciting that the drug can double the survival time, researchers will still be hard at work discovering treatments that will extend it even longer, or even cure pancreatic cancer.
That’s certainly something worth celebrating.
Related: We Asked 3 Oncologists About the Best Breakfast for Cancer Prevention and They All Said the Same Thing
Sources:
Dr. Eileen O’Reilly, MD, gastrointestinal medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.O’Reilly, E. M., Wainberg, Z. A., Hendifar, A. E., et al. (2026). Daraxonrasib or Chemotherapy in Previously Treated Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer. The New England Journal of Medicine. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2605555. Dr. Avishek Kumar, MD, oncologist with Regional Cancer Care Associates.Development & Approval Process. U.S. Food & Drug Administration.Hence then, the article about there s a groundbreaking new treatment for one of the most deadly cancers here s what oncologists want you to know was published today ( ) and is available on Parade ( Saudi Arabia ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( There’s a Groundbreaking New Treatment for One of the Most Deadly Cancers—Here’s What Oncologists Want You To Know )
Also on site :