Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 30
Researchers Trace Daraxonrasib Resistance in 66 Pancreatic Cancer Patients as Drug Often Fails After 7 Months
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 30

Researchers Trace Daraxonrasib Resistance in 66 Pancreatic Cancer Patients as Drug Often Fails After 7 Months

3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 30

Summary

  • A preliminary study presented Friday identified early clues to how pancreatic tumors evade daraxonrasib, the newly approved drug that has transformed treatment for advanced disease.
  • The effort analyzed biopsies from 66 patients already enrolled in an early-stage trial, aiming to explain how cancer cells survive despite the drug blocking a protein they need.
  • Daraxonrasib won approval in August after doubling median survival in advanced pancreatic cancer, but specialists say nearly every patient who benefits eventually develops resistance.
  • That loss of response often arrives after about seven months, pushing researchers to map resistance pathways in hopes of extending survival beyond the drug's initial gains.

Insights

What are scientists learning from resistant pancreatic tumors that could make daraxonrasib last longer or work better in combination?
Why does a pancreatic cancer drug that doubles survival usually fail within seven months, and can researchers stop tumors from escaping it?