The only time you want to hear the word “cancer” is if it is in the same sentence as the word “breakthrough.” Fortunately, that is what many people are hearing about when it relates to a new drug that is offering hope for many people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, one of the most aggressive types of cancer. The drug is Daraxonrasib, and it has been given a “breakthrough designation” by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA).
Daraxonrasib targets mutations in the RAS gene. These mutations send signals to cancer cells, encouraging growth. These mutations drive over 90% of pancreatic cancer, which is projected to be the second deadliest type of cancer by the year 2030. That might change.
The daily pills nearly doubled survival time and had fewer severe side effects. That is according to results in a study that randomly assigned the experimental drug to five hundred patients whose cancer had quit responding to prior treatment.
A Landmark Shift
“This drug is potentially going to be a landmark shift in how we treat pancreatic cancer,” says gastrointestinal medical oncologist Eileen O’Reilly, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) . “The ability to target RAS mutations that drive so much of pancreatic cancer is huge and has been missing from our treatments.”
According to information shared by PBS, the pills’ effects eventually wane, but those recipients who continued to use them after the study reported less pain and an improved quality of life as their tumors shrank. This could mean that researchers might widen their initial survival gap, which now stands at 13.2 months compared to 6.7 months for chemotherapy recipients.
The findings about the drug’s effectiveness were published in the New England Journal of Medicine and recently presented at a meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago.
“Having treated pancreatic cancer for 16 years, I actually started crying” when first seeing the study results, Dr. Rachna Shroff of the University of Arizona Cancer Center, who wasn’t involved with the research, said from the ASCO meeting. She was struck by how “patients stayed on this treatment because it was providing durable and meaningful benefit to them.”
Expanded Access
Dr. Brian Wolpin, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, presented the findings at the ASCO meeting. He told the gathering that the drug should become a “new standard of care” for previously treated metastatic pancreatic cancer. Dr. Wolpin suggested that researchers will explore using the drug earlier in a patient’s diagnosis to see if shrinking the tumor sooner might help qualify patients for surgery.
As the FDA expedites its review of the drug, the agency is allowing for “expanded access” to patients who meet certain criteria. According to the American Cancer Society estimates, about 67,000 new cases will be diagnosed in the U.S. this year, and 52,000 will die from the disease.
Why Consulting a Specialized Law Firm Matters for Cancer Patients
While this new drug provides hope for many cancer patients, there are other patients who are still struggling. The insidious nature of cancer is that it can target anyone. In most instances, it is hard to determine the cause of cancer. That is not the case with mesothelioma. This is a cancer whose origins can be tied to asbestos exposure.
As medical researchers race to find an effective treatment, patients and their families can recover some of their financial losses. That is because of the many mesothelioma trust funds established by companies that did not mitigate asbestos exposure.
If you or someone in your family has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, you should speak with an attorney at the Frost Law Firm, PC. We are experienced mesothelioma lawyers who have helped many families secure compensation to address the financial burdens associated with the disease. Call our offices to see if you qualify, and let’s see if we can work together for support.
