A new targeted drug has been approved by the FDA to treat adults with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma who have received at least one prior form of therapy, according to a August 27 report. The drug, daraxonrasib, was developed by Revolution Medicines and has shown potential in nearly doubling survival time in patients during Phase 3 clinical trials.
Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah was one of only 60 sites worldwide involved in the RASolute 302 trial. The institute was among the first sites to enroll patients during Phase 1 of the trial. Clinicians are currently evaluating the drug in trials for other types of cancer.
Daraxonrasib is an oral therapy that inhibits mutant RAS, a gene that can drive cancer when altered. The drug targets KRAS, a type of RAS mutation that was previously considered undruggable. According to Vaia Florou, MD, MS, an oncologist at Huntsman Cancer Institute and principal investigator on the trial, KRAS is a driver in 90% of pancreatic cancer cases.
While the drug offers promise, Dr. Florou noted that targeted therapies can have side effects and the cancer may eventually adapt to the treatment. However, the oral administration of the drug could reduce the need for patients to travel for infusions.
In addition to targeted drugs, researchers are exploring personalized vaccines to prevent cancer recurrence. A Phase 1 clinical trial presented at the American Association for Cancer Research evaluated a vaccine designed to activate immune cells to attack cancerous cells by sequencing the DNA of a patient's unique tumor.
Conan Kinsey, MD, PhD, an oncologist at Huntsman Cancer Institute, stated that the vaccine is not a traditional immunization but is intended to stop the disease from returning in patients who have already undergone surgery, immunotherapy, and chemotherapy. This specific trial involved 16 patients.
The 5-year survival rate for all pancreatic cancers is 13%, while the rate for metastatic disease is less than 10%. The FDA recently announced that Revolution Medicines could initiate an expanded access protocol, allowing daraxonrasib to be used by more patients outside of clinical trials.
