A clinical trial involving 500 patients has shown that the daily oral drug daraxonrasib may significantly extend survival in advanced pancreatic cancer, an outcome researchers are describing as a major breakthrough.
In the study presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting, patients receiving daraxonrasib lived a median of 13.2 months, compared with about 6.6–6.7 months for those treated with standard chemotherapy. The treatment also appeared to be better tolerated, with fewer and less severe side effects reported.
Daraxonrasib is a next-generation Ras pathway inhibitor designed to block KRAS signaling, a key driver in more than 90% of pancreatic cancers that promotes uncontrolled tumor growth. Unlike earlier approaches, it is engineered to suppress KRAS activity more broadly, potentially regardless of specific mutation subtype.
Experts say the results are especially meaningful given the historically poor outcomes and limited treatment options for pancreatic cancer. While not a cure, the drug is being viewed as a potential turning point that could meaningfully extend life expectancy. Further studies will determine how quickly and widely it can be made available, and whether similar benefits are seen in other KRAS-driven cancers such as lung and colorectal tumors.