An experimental drug for metastatic pancreatic cancer nearly doubled overall survival in a Phase 3 clinical trial, offering new hope for patients with one of the deadliest forms of cancer.
The findings, presented Sunday at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting and published simultaneously in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed that patients who received the investigational drug daraxonrasib lived, on average, about six months longer than those who received chemotherapy.
“I think many of us would consider this a big win,” Dr. Brian Wolpin, director of the Hale Family Center for Pancreatic Cancer Research and Gastrointestinal Cancer Center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, said in an interview with GMA.
The global Phase 3 trial enrolled 500 patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer who had previously received one line of chemotherapy for metastatic disease.
Researchers found patients treated with daraxonrasib had a median overall survival of 13.2 months, compared with 6.7 months for those receiving chemotherapy. The treatment also reduced the risk of death by 60%.
Pancreatic cancer is among the deadliest cancers, partly because it is often diagnosed after it has already spread beyond the pancreas. Few patients with metastatic disease survive beyond a year, and treatment options after initial chemotherapy remain limited.
Researchers say the findings could represent a major shift in the treatment of metastatic pancreatic cancer if the drug receives FDA approval.
Earlier this month, the FDA granted permission for an expanded access program that allows some patients with previously treated metastatic pancreatic cancer to receive daraxonrasib while the drug continues through the regulatory review process.
“It is exciting to see that we may soon be able to help patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer in ways we haven’t been able to before, improving both survival and quality of life,” Wolpin added in the release.