Pancreatic cancer drug may hold promise for lung cancer as well, early study suggests

The pill was found to reduce tumors in more than 30% of patients.

A breakthrough drug recently approved to treat advanced pancreatic cancer may show promise against a specific type of lung cancer as well.

In an early phase clinical trial, researchers gave 136 patients with non-small cell lung cancer daily doses of the drug, known as daraxonrasib, for three weeks at a time.

The patients had all previously tried other therapies with little to no success and had mutations in RAS proteins, which can drive tumor growth.

The pill was found to not only be safe but also reduce tumor burden in more than 30% of patients, according to the study published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine .

In the group that received a lower dose, 31% of patients saw tumors reduced. The middle range dose group saw 34% of patients with reduced tumors while the highest dose group saw 37% of patients with reduced tumors.

Almost all participants reported side effects, with severe side effects observed in 54% of individuals. The most common side effects of the drug included rash, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting.

Some patients also experienced mucositis, which is inflammation of the mucous membranes lining the digestive tract, and stomatitis, which is the inflammation of the mucous membranes inside the mouth. Pneumonia and low blood counts were also observed.

The results could hold promise for the leading cause of cancer death both in the U.S. and worldwide. Lung cancer is the third most common cancer in the U.S. with about 230,000 diagnoses and about 125,000 deaths expected this year alone, according to the American Cancer Society .

The odds that a person will develop lung cancer in their lifetime is about 1 in 19, the American Cancer Society says. More than three-quarters of all lung cancers are non-small cell lung cancer.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will likely request further late-stage clinical trials with more participants before evaluating the drug's potential for approval as a treatment for lung cancer.

The study was funded by Revolution Medicines, which will be selling daraxonrasib under the brand name Rasonque.

Last week, the FDA approved the drug to treat those with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma who have received at least one prior systemic therapy, or cancer treatments that target the entire body.

A late-stage clinical trial with 500 patients showed that the median overall survival nearly doubled to more than 13 months versus a median survival of about 6.7 months for those being treated with standard chemotherapy.

In June 2025, the FDA granted the drug a "Breakthrough Therapy" designation. This allows for expedited development and review of drugs that treat serious conditions and have preliminary evidence showing substantial improvement over available treatments.

The application was reviewed under the Commissioner's National Priority Voucher Program, initiated by former FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary. The review time was accelerated from 12 months to 10 months.

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