A new pill is being celebrated as a significant advance in the battle against pancreatic cancer after clinical trial results showed it could more than double survival for patients with advanced disease.
The drug, Daraxonrasib, lifted median survival from about six and a half months with chemotherapy alone to more than 13 months, based on the trial findings.
Specialists say the results are especially notable because pancreatic cancer is so often found at a late stage and has long been one of the hardest cancers to treat effectively.
Dr Rachna Shroff said she had “not seen these types of numbers before”, as researchers reacted emotionally to the outcome.
Pankind chief executive Michelle Stewart said the medical response had been unlike anything she had seen, describing the development as “a massive step forward”.
Researchers have cautioned that Daraxonrasib is not a cure. Even so, they say the treatment could signal a major turning point in pancreatic cancer care, although Australians may still have some time to wait before it becomes available here.
