An experimental new drug shrunk up to 70% of pancreatic tumors, in what scientists are hoping will “change the standard” of cancer care.
The cancer breakthrough came off the back of a new study from researchers at Columbia University, published on Monday, which saw scientists hail the novel treatment as potentially the most effective studied so far. Human pancreatic cancer cells were placed in Petri dishes and tested against a drug named RMC-7977.
Shrinkage occurred in seven out of 10 models, with it decreasing by between 30% and 98%, according to the study’s findings. Researchers also found that the treatment did not harm healthy cells – with numerous cancer treatments including chemotherapy and radiation, harming surrounding non-cancerous cells.
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“I’ve been working on pancreatic cancer for almost 20 years, and I’ve never seen preclinical results like these,” study lead Dr Kenneth Olive, an associate professor at Columbia University’s medicine department, told the Daily Mail. “I think there is a real chance this approach will help change the standard of care for pancreatic cancer patients, but only clinical trials can determine that.”
Nearly 67,000 people will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and almost 52,000 will die from the aggressive disease this year – with the risk higher in men in both instances – according to the American Cancer Society’s latest estimates. The rapidly progressive form of cancer has taken the lives of many women and men in the public eye – from Joan Crawford and Aerthra Franklin to Patrick Swayze and Steve Jobs.
Surgery, chemotherapy and immunotherapy drugs that aim to cure the disease are often unsuccessful. Pancreatic cancer is rarely found in its early stages when the chance of cure is greatest as often symptoms don’t occur until it has spread to other organs.
But the bombshell new drug managed to interfere with a problem gene called KRAS – which can mutate to stimulate uncontrollable cell growth – which is a driver in approximately 95% of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas, the most common form of the disease. The mutated KRAS gene can transform healthy pancreatic cells to become cancerous.
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“For over four decades, we have known that there’s one particular RAS protein, called KRAS, that’s mutated and drives about 95 percent of all pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma cases, and we’ve had no direct tools to attack it for most of that time,” Dr Olive said.
More than eight in 10 American adults are unaware of the science of the disease, according to a 2022 survey by Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. Common symptoms include decreased appetite, stomach pain that expands to the sides and back, unexplained weight loss, yellowing of the eyes and skin, dark-colored urine, itching, diabetes, pain and swelling in the arms or legs, and fatigue or weakness.