Pancreatic cancer: New drug extends lives but isn't a cure

Published 8 June 2026 · health

The newly developed treatment daraxonrasib can double the years left to live for patients with pancreatic cancer — but it doesn't cure the disease and

The newly developed treatment daraxonrasib can double the years left to live for patients with pancreatic cancer — but it doesn't cure the disease and only works if the cancer is treated early. Pancreatic cancer is notoriously difficult to treat — and in many cases leads to death just months after diagnosis. So it is no surprise that this headline created a stir: In a recent study, a new drug, daraxonrasib, was able to double the survival time of patients with pancreatic cancer. Compared with patients who underwent chemotherapy, those treated with daraxonrasib not only lived longer, but also reported a better quality of life. The treatment also appeared to cause fewer severe side effects. The study should be regarded as "a revolutionary breakthrough for patients with pancreatic cancer," said Dietrich Ruess, Deputy Medical Director and Head of the certified Pancreatic Cancer Center at the Department of General and Visceral Surgery at Freiburg University Medical Center. "In my view, this is one of the most important clinical developments in metastatic pancreatic cancer in many years," said Dieter Saur, Professor of Translational Cancer Research at the Technical University of Munich and the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg.

Daraxonrasib targets the RAS gene Experts expressed enthusiasm that daraxonrasib could specifically target the so-called RAS gene. This gene encodes a protein that drives cell growth and division. About 90% of people with pancreatic cancer carry a mutation in this gene. As a result, it remains permanently active, promoting tumor formation and growth. Study participants who received daraxonrasib lived a median of 13.2 months from the start of treatment, compared with 6.6 months for patients in the chemotherapy control group. Despite the excitement surrounding the study results, one important fact remains: Daraxonrasib does not cure pancreatic cancer. In most cases, the diagnosis still amounts to a death sentence. "'Promising' is actually too strong a word," said Susanne Weg-Remers, a physician and head of the Cancer Information Service at the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg. How the pancreas works To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Pancreatic cancer: Few warning signs, poor survival prospects Pancreatic cancer develops largely unnoticed. Patients often experience no symptoms at first, or only vague, nonspecific ones. These may include upper abdominal pain, back pain, nausea, digestive problems, loss of appetite and weight loss.