The progress against pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer, long considered a death sentence, is becoming more treatable thanks to new therapies like daraxonrasib, which has shown significant tumor reduction and doubled survival in metastatic cases. The drug targets the previously 'undruggable' RAS protein and is part of a new class of treatments called molecular glues. These advances mark a turning point not only for pancreatic cancer but for oncology more broadly.
- ▪Former Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse experienced a 76 percent reduction in tumor volume after enrolling in a clinical trial for daraxonrasib.
- ▪In April 2026, Phase 3 trial results showed daraxonrasib roughly doubled survival in metastatic pancreatic cancer patients compared to standard chemotherapy.
- ▪Daraxonrasib is among the first drugs to successfully target mutant RAS proteins, implicated in about 25 percent of all human cancers.
- ▪Pancreatic cancer is often diagnosed late due to its deep location and vague symptoms, earning it the nickname 'silent killer'.
- ▪Immunotherapies like checkpoint inhibitors and CAR-T have had limited success in pancreatic cancer due to the tumor's protective physical and immunosuppressive environment.
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Pancreatic cancer just met its matchA disease that was once a death sentence is increasingly treatableRuxandra Teslo and Works in ProgressMay 12, 20262151422ShareFor most of the last half-century, a diagnosis of metastatic pancreatic cancer was a death sentence. In December 2025, former Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse announced he had been diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer that had spread to his lungs, liver and other organs, and was given three to four months to live from the time of diagnosis. With little to lose, he enrolled in a clinical trial for an experimental drug. Four months later, he reported a 76 percent reduction in tumor volume, describing the drug, daraxonrasib, as a ‘miracle’. His face, ravaged by a severe skin rash from the treatment, told a more complicated story.
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