People walk past 45,000 flag display in the shape of a giant heart, 1 flag for each person diagnosed this year with pancreatic cancer, at Anschutz Medical campus in Aurora, November 13, 2013. The flags were put up for Pancreatic Cancer Awareness mont …
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. - A new experimental drug significantly improved survival for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer in a late-stage clinical trial, offering a potential new treatment option.
Revolution Medicines reported positive Phase 3 trial results for its drug daraxonrasib in previously treated metastatic pancreatic cancer, showing significant improvements in survival compared with standard chemotherapy.
By the numbers:
Patients lived a median of 13.2 months on the once-daily oral treatment versus 6.7 months on chemotherapy, and the drug was generally well tolerated with no new safety concerns.
RELATED: 1-year-old son of legendary blind USC long snapper Jake Olson rings bell after cancer battle
What they're saying:
"For patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer, new treatment options are urgently needed to increase survival time and improve quality of life," Brian M. Wolpin, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, said in a news release. "The widely anticipated results of this study indicate that daraxonrasib provides a clear and highly meaningful step forward for patients with pancreatic cancer who have experienced progression on prior treatment, typically chemotherapy."
RELATED: Pig semen eye drops may treat rare childhood eye cancer, study says
Dig deeper:
Pancreatic cancer is largely driven by RAS mutations, which occur in more than 90% of patients and are linked to aggressive disease.
Daraxonrasib is an experimental therapy designed to target a broad range of these mutations.
This browser does not support the Video element.
Passengers celebrate 2-year-old's cancer-free status
Southwest flight attendants made a very special announcement on a recent flight between California and New York: 2-year-old Cruz, who'd been battling a rare form of cancer, is now cancer-free. The toddler went home with a pile of napkins filled with words of encouragement from his fellow passengers.
The Phase 3 trial included patients with different RAS variants as well as those without identified mutations, evaluating progression-free and overall survival in both specific mutation groups and the overall study population.
What's next:
The company said the interim results are final and plans to submit the data to global regulators, including the Food and Druga Administration, and present the findings at a major oncology conference in 2026.
The Source: The information in this story comes from a company announcement by Revolution Medicines. This story was reported from Los Angeles.