Key Takeaways from ESMO GI 2025 on Pancreatic Cancer
A promising drug for pancreatic cancer
RASolute-302 is a Phase 3 clinical trial (NCT06625320) testing a new drug called daraxonrasib in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. This drug targets a common mutation in the cancer called KRAS, which is found in most pancreatic tumours. Daraxonrasib is a pill that works by turning off the mutated KRAS gene, which fuels cancer growth. The trial is comparing this new drug (daraxonrasib) to standard chemotherapy in a large patient population whose cancer has already been treatedonce but has returned or continued to grow.
In earlier studies, daraxonrasib showed encouraging results, i.e., patients lived longer and had fewer side effects than expected. The drug also received ‘Breakthrough Therapy status’ from the U.S. FDA, which speeds up its development.
References
https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06625320
https://ascopubs.org/doi/10.1200/JCO.2025.43.16_suppl.TPS4230
BXCL701 + Pembrolizumab in Second-Line Advanced PDAC
EXPEL‑PANC is a Phase II trial (NCT05558982), testing whether the drug BXCL701 (a pill that blocks enzymes called DPP4/8/9 and a protein called FAP), combined with the anti-PD-1 immunotherapy pembrolizumab (Keytruda), can help patients with metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) who have already received one standard chemotherapy regimen.
Preliminary results from this ongoing trial showed that 16 patients out of 21 were response-evaluable at the 18-week landmark. With a 39% disease control rate, which includes patients with 17% partial response (tumour shrinkage) and 22% stable disease at 18 weeks, plus a manageable safety profile, this strategy offers a potentially important advance for a disease with few treatment options. The combination of BXCL701 and pembrolizumab may show efficacy in treating second-line advanced PDAC, a typically immunotherapy-resistant population.
References
https://www.annalsofoncology.org/article/S0923-7534(25)00477-6/fulltext
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