How new cancer pill is allowing pancreatic cancer patients to live twice as long

Humanity’s battle against cancer continues.

Last month, a drug that can be injected and administered within seven minutes was launched in India to treat certain types of lung cancer. Now, a pill that doubles the survival time for pancreatic cancer has been introduced.

The drug daraxonrasib has been hailed by some experts as a possible game changer. But what do we know about it? How does it work?

Let’s take a closer look.

A brief look at pancreatic cancer

According to the Mayo Clinic, pancreatic cancer is a kind of cancer that begins as a growth of cells in the pancreas, which is behind the lower part of the stomach. The pancreas creates enzymes that help digest food and hormones that help regulate blood sugar.

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Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is the most common kind of pancreatic cancer. This begins in the cells that line the ducts that carry digestive enzymes out of the pancreas.

Symptoms of pancreatic cancer include:

The problem with pancreatic cancer is that it is very rarely discovered in the early stages. This is because the symptoms don’t appear until after it has spread throughout the body. Meanwhile, there are only a few treatments for the disease.

What we know about the drug

The findings about the drug known as daraxonrasib were published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The research, led by the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, was presented on Sunday at the American Society for Clinical Oncology’s (ASCO) annual meeting in Chicago.

The study was funded by Revolution Medicines and was helped led by Dr Zev Wainberg of the University of California, Los Angeles.

According to The Guardian, the study involved 500 patients, all of whom had pancreatic cancer that had spread. The results were astonishing: the pill twice increased the survival time of pancreatic cancer patients. Patients who took daraxonrasib lived for an average of 13.2 months compared to 6.6 to 6.7 months for those who underwent chemotherapy.

How it works

Daraxonrasib blocks a mutated protein that fuels tumour growth in over 90 per cent of pancreatic cancer cases. According to The Guardian, the protein known as KRAS is responsible for nearly all pancreatic cancers. It binds molecules together to grab and shut down KRAS, which is part of the RAS family of genes. These can result in cancer cells continuing to receive signals to grow and divide, even when they should not.

"While not curing the cancer, it is a very large step forward," Wainberg said. Those using the pill also reported less pain and a better quality of life as their tumours shrank.

The problem with pancreatic cancer is that it is very rarely discovered in the early stages. Pexels

Dr Brian Wolpin of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute has said that the most common side effects include a severe rash and mouth sores. Wolpin, who presented the findings on Sunday, said daraxonrasib ought to become "a new standard of care" for previously treated metastatic pancreatic cancer. He said researchers will further see if it allows tumours to be shrunk and thus patients to undergo surgery. Side effects most likely to affect pill usage were a rash that can be severe and mouth sores, Wolpin said.

Why it matters

This could increase the lifespan of thousands of people across the world. The American Cancer Society estimates about 67,000 new pancreatic cancer cases will be diagnosed in the US in 2026. It says over 52,000 people will die from the disease. The five-year overall survival rate is 13 per cent.

According to data from the National Cancer Registry Programme (India) published in JAMA Network Open (2025), there were 22,982 cases across India. Pancreatic cancer has an incidence rate of 1.6 per 100,000 men and women.

Pancreatic cancer has an incidence rate of 1.6 per 100,000 men and women. Representational image/Pixabay

“These results are landscape-changing,” Dr Rachna Shroff, the chief of oncology at the University of Arizona Cancer Center and an ASCO expert in gastrointestinal cancers, told The Guardian. “We are seeing unprecedented survival.” Shroff, who was not involved with the study, said she cried when she read it.

“Having treated pancreatic cancer for 16 years, I actually started crying in clinic. This is such an incredibly impactful study for our patients, and I really congratulate the [trial] investigators.”

Dr Julie Gralow, ASCO’s chief medical officer and executive vice-president, agreed. “I’ve heard this study described as a home run. I would actually say it’s a grand slam.”

The drug will change pancreatic cancer treatment, said Dr Andrew Coveler of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, who wasn't involved in the research. "This thing works drastically differently," he said.

America’s Food and Drug Administration plans to expedite review of the drug and is allowing what is known as "expanded access" to the experimental drug for patients who meet certain criteria.

The drug was spotlighted earlier this year when former US Senator Ben Sasse—who was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer in December—explained on "60 Minutes" how he has had less pain while taking it.

"I have much, much less pain than I had four months ago when I was diagnosed, and I have a massive 76 per cent reduction in tumour volume over the last four months," Sasse said, as per CBS News. He called it "a miracle drug."

Oncologists are being flooded with requests as the special access programme gets started. For tens of thousands of pancreatic cancer patients around the world, it seems that hope is on the horizon.

FAQs

1. What is daraxonrasib and how does it work?

Daraxonrasib is a targeted cancer drug that blocks the KRAS protein, which drives tumour growth in most pancreatic cancer cases.

2. How much can the drug improve survival?

Clinical trials showed patients lived about 13.2 months on average, compared to 6.6–6.7 months with chemotherapy.

3. Is daraxonrasib available for patients now?

The drug is not fully approved yet but is under expedited review, with limited access programmes already underway.

With input from agencies