Has pancreatic cancer met its match?

10 hours ago

Metastatic pancreatic cancer survival is improving with new treatments like daraxonrasib, which doubled survival in a Phase 3 trial.
Daraxonrasib targets the RAS protein, implicated in many cancers, using a molecular glue mechanism that bypasses the need for pre-existing protein pockets.
Pancreatic cancer is often diagnosed late and has high mortality, partly due to its ability to evade immune attacks and having fewer mutations.
Immunotherapies have revolutionized cancer treatment for some types, but pancreatic tumors resist them via physical barriers and a low mutational burden.
RAS was long considered 'undruggable' due to its smooth surface, but advances like molecular glues and cryo-electron microscopy enabled new drug designs.
Resistance to targeted therapies like daraxonrasib is emerging, highlighting the need for combination treatments and adaptive clinical trial frameworks.
Progress against other 'undruggable' targets, such as PI3Kα in breast cancer, shows optimism for overcoming previous therapeutic limitations.

Hasty Briefsbeta