Pill For Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer Helped Patients Live Twice As Long
Stat reported that patients who took the daily pill, called daraxonrasib, lived a median of 13.2 months compared with 6.7 months for patients who received chemotherapy. One of the trial's participants, former U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska, said, "This experience has seemingly extended both quantity and quality of [my] life.â€
Metastatic pancreatic cancer patients who received a targeted pill from Revolution Medicines lived nearly twice as long as patients who received chemotherapy, a striking result in an especially deadly and intractable malignancy. Patients who took the daily pill, called daraxonrasib, lived a median of 13.2 months, compared to 6.7 months for patients who received chemotherapy. (Mast, 4/13)
When Ben Sasse, a former United States senator (R-Neb.), learned he had metastatic pancreatic cancer, he quickly chose action over comfort. Whatever he could do to save his life, for as long as he could, he wanted to try it. Perhaps his only option, doctors told him, was to enroll in a clinical trial. (Chen, 4/14)
More news about cancer —
People who survived cancer as teens and young adults are at increased risk of developing cancer later in their lives, according to research from the Canadian Medical Association Journal. Approximately 16% of adolescent and young adult cancer survivors who stayed cancer-free for at least five years are at high risk, compared to about 12% of people in the same age group without cancer. (Negussie, 4/13)
Anemia, a common blood disorder, may be a major risk factor for developing cancer. That's according to new research from Sweden, which sought to discover whether newly developed anemia is an early warning sign of cancer or death from any cause. (Stabile, 4/13)
A negative study in low-grade serous ovarian cancer might have uncovered a pathway toward more effective treatment for a large subgroup of patients, according to the NRG-GY019 trial. (Bankhead, 4/12)
A small, red "miracle fruit" is gaining attention for its ability to make lemons taste like lemonade — and for helping some cancer patients cope with an unpleasant side effect of treatment. (Bardolf, 4/13)
Also —
ESPN college basketball broadcaster Dick Vitale announced Monday that he has been diagnosed with melanoma in his lung and liver cavity. Vitale, 86, will soon start immunotherapy treatments. The legendary ESPN personality has been ravaged by health struggles in recent years, battling multiple forms of cancer. (Williams, 4/13)
