Blair Willis Archive

A newly approved treatment is giving patients with advanced pancreatic cancer another option, and the physicians at HonorHealth Research Institute already have experience using it. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Rasonque (daraxonrasib), a once-daily pill for certain patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer. In a large clinical trial, patients receiving the targeted therapy survived nearly twice as long, on average, versus those receiving standard chemotherapy. Months before FDA approval, HonorHealth Research Institute was among the first centers in the country selected to provide the treatment through an expanded access program. That early access allowed eligible patients to receive the investigational therapy while giving the Research Institute's pancreatic cancer team valuable experience with the treatment before it became more widely available. “Daraxonrasib is the first medication to demonstrate success targeting KRAS, a genetic mutation in more than 90% of pancreatic cancers, and its effectiveness opens the door for more targeted strategies against pancreatic and other cancers in the future,” said Erkut Borazanci, MD, director of oncology at HonorHealth Research Institute. Erkut Borazanci, M.D., M.S., Director of Oncology at HonorHealth Research Institute, pictured in a professional office portrait.
Early access to new pancreatic cancer treatment expands hope