The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved a groundbreaking pancreatic cancer drug that experts predict will transform treatment for the notoriously deadly disease.The drug, Revolution Medicines’ Rasonque, or daraxonrasib, was approved for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer who have already tried a prior treatment, such as chemotherapy, the agency said.In a late-stage clinical trial of 500 patients, people who got the drug along with standard chemotherapy lived about twice as long — 13.2 months, on average — compared with people who got chemotherapy alone.Dr.Rachna Shroff, chief of the division of hematology and oncology at the University of Arizona Cancer Center in Tucson, previously told NBC News that she “started crying tears of joy” when she saw the trial’s preliminary findings in April.“It’s that big of a game changer for those of us who treat pancreatic cancer,” Shroff said.
“It’s unprecedented.”The drug does have side effects, including a blistering rash, sores in the mouth and throat, and vomiting and diarrhea.(Former Sen.
Ben Sasse of Nebraska, who got the drug in a clinical trial, described the rash as “nuclear” on a New York Times podcast in the spring.)Rasonque targets a mutation in a gene called KRAS that’s found in nearly all pancreatic cancers.Revolution MedicinesChanning Der, a pharmacologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, called Wednesday’s approval a “monumental moment for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.”“Pancreatic cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death in the U.S.and the deadliest of all cancers,” Der wrote in an email.
“This is just the beginning of more advances to come.”Taken as a daily pill, Rasonque targets a mutation in a gene called KRAS that’s found in nearly all pancreatic cancers as well as many lung, colorectal, ovarian and other cancers.The gene acts like an on/off switch controlling how cells grow in the body.
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