Daraxonrasib, a drug that targets the genetic driver of most pancreatic cancers, extended clinical trial participants’ progression-free survival by a median of 8.5 months, according to a study published May 6 in The New England Journal of Medicine.
Fifteen cancer centers participated in the research: Boston-based Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; New York City-based Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; Salt Lake City-based Huntsman Cancer Institute; New York City-based NYU Langone Health; Cincinnati-based Christ Hospital; Dallas-based Mary Crowley Cancer Research; Nashville-based Sarah Cannon Research Institute; New York City-based Columbia University; Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center; David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California Los Angeles; University of California Irvine; Miami Cancer Institute; Houston-based University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center; Fairfax-based NEXT Oncology Virginia-Virginia Cancer Specialists Research Institute; and San Antonio, Texas-based NEXT Oncology.
Here are five things to know from the study:
- Trial participants had stage 4 pancreatic cancer and previously received one line of chemotherapy that was no longer working. Of the 168 patients enrolled in the trial, 35% responded to the drug.
- While the median progression-free survival time was 8.5 months, the median overall survival was 13.1 months.
- One in three patients experienced significant side effects, such as rash, nausea, diarrhea and mouth sores, but no patient discontinued treatment due to side effects.
- The FDA granted expanded access to daraxonrasib, which is developed by Revolution Medicines, through a “safe to proceed” letter issued May 1.
- A phase 3 trial of daraxonrasib is underway at more than 30 cancer centers in the U.S.
Read the full study here.
