mRNA Offers Promise Against Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic cancer is notoriously difficult to treat. For one thing, there are no simple screening procedures that would alert a person to its presence until it is fairly well advanced. According to the American Cancer Society, about 67, 530 Americans will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer this year. Three out of four of them are likely die from this malignancy within a year of diagnosis. That’s around 50,000 people and roughly 8% of all deaths due to cancer. Doctors have seen no improvements in pancreatic cancer mortality for twenty years (Journal of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Aug. 31, 2024). No wonder a recent announcement of a treatment that may offer promise against pancreatic cancer has caused a stir.

Promise Against Pancreatic Cancer

In a tiny phase I trial conducted at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, an mRNA vaccine showed promise against pancreatic cancer. Researchers had already been investigating the possibility of using mRNA to treat cancer even before the COVID pandemic started. That is partly why the vaccines could be developed so quickly.

Now, investigators at MSK have utilized mRNA technology to activate the immune system against pancreatic cancer. BioNTech and Roche’s Genentech division are developing the treatment, which is personalized to each patient. A tiny bit of the patient’s tumor is used to encourage the immune system to attack the malignancy. Phase 1 trials are designed to determine safety. Phase 2 and phase 3 trials will be needed to see if this approach can deliver on its promise against pancreatic cancer.

A New Drug Results in Better Survival

Findings from this trial were presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research. Another study presented at the meeting demonstrated a survival advantage for people taking the drug daraxonrasib. People who got this revolutionary medicine lived six months longer than those who got standard treatment. That is to say, they about lived twice as long. Daraxonrasib works by inhibiting a gene called RAS that contributes to pancreatic cancer.

The FDA has indicated interest in a drug that could inhibit RAS. If approved, the medicine could be administered along with chemotherapy. Because daraxonrasib is in pills rather than injections or infusions, it may be more convenient for patients. In the future, doctors might prescribe a combination of daraxonrasib and mRNA treatment. There is a possibility that the research reported at the AACR could become a game changer for this deadly disease.