Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
The PancChat Podcast is a collaborative effort from Let’s Win Pancreatic Cancer and the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN), inspired by the long-running #PancChat Twitter/X chat.
Hosted by award-winning journalist Alisyn Camerota, each episode features conversations with leading researchers, clinicians, patients, and advocates who are shaping the future of pancreatic cancer care and research. Together, we deliver expert insights, personal journeys, and the latest breakthroughs—bridging the gap between science and lived experience.
Whether you’re a patient, caregiver, healthcare professional, or simply want to learn more, join us to connect, be inspired, and learn how you can help to accelerate progress in the fight against pancreatic cancer.
Cindy Gavin: Hi everyone, and welcome back to the PancChat Podcast. I'm Cindy Gavin, CEO and co-founder of Let's Win Pancreatic Cancer.
Today, we're exploring the latest treatment developments in pancreatic cancer and what these new advances could mean for you and your family.
Take it away, Alisyn.
Alisyn Camerota: Hi, everyone. We want to welcome our listeners to Episode 25 of PancChat.
Today's episode focuses on the new and exciting advancements in pancreatic cancer research, from clinical trials to KRAS treatments to pancreatic cancer vaccines. We'd like to thank our sponsor, Revolution Medicines.
So today I'm excited to bring in our special guests.
We have Dr. Anna Berkenblit and Dr. Allyson Ocean. Dr. Berkenblit is a medical oncologist and has more than two decades of experience in the life science industry, in particular, the clinical development of novel anticancer therapies. She is the chief scientific and medical officer for PanCAN and is responsible for the organization's overall scientific and clinical strategy.
Dr. Ocean is the director of the pancreatic cancer research program and professor of clinical medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University, as well as a medical oncologist and attending physician of gastrointestinal oncology at New York Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Cornell Medical Center. She is a co-founder of Let's Win and chair of the Scientific Advisory Board. She was also incredibly helpful to my husband and me when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2020.
Welcome, ladies, great to see both of you.
Dr. Allyson Ocean: Likewise, thank you.
Alisyn Camerota: Thanks for being here. So today we're talking about the latest advancements in pancreatic cancer research, pancreatic cancer treatments, including, as we just discussed, these very exciting KRAS inhibitors that so many people are talking about, and vaccines, as well as anything else you want to bring to our attention.
So, Dr. Berkenblit, let's start by just setting the table for us. You said it's been a remarkable year. Is there a way for you to capture that in a sentence or two?
Dr. Anna Berkenblit: Absolutely, Alisyn. Such an incredible year this year with the news of the phase 3 trial of daraxonrasib in patients with previously treated metastatic pancreatic cancer. I mean, RAS was considered undruggable for decades, and so much research went into it.
We finally have drugs that target RAS, which is mutated in over ninety percent of pancreatic cancers. And we finally have a drug that is moving the needle for patients.
The word unprecedented doesn't even do justice to it. At ASCO a couple of weeks ago, we saw the full data for the phase 3 trial comparing this pill to standard chemotherapy. And we saw that it doubles survival, it doubles the time during which the cancer isn't progressing, it triples response rates, and it does so while improving the quality of life and improving pain. So this is doing exactly what we want for patients: live longer and feel better. So excited about it.
Alisyn Camerota: So, Dr. Berkenblit, let me just have you put a finer point on all of that in terms of the nitty-gritty of this clinical trial. So I'll give you what I understand, as far as I understand it, but feel free to correct me. So this, as you said, phase 3 of this clinical trial had great results, and now the FDA has granted expanded access for patients.
This, we should mention, is that the drug comes out of Revolution Medicines, which is our sponsor.
Also, in the interest of full disclosure, my husband was one of the very few patients on phase 1 of this trial. So I got to see the effectiveness of it. It definitely increased his quality of life for a while, not forever. The durability of it, I would say, they haven't cracked the code on, from my personal experience.
But can you explain why this treatment is considered such a breakthrough, and who is eligible right now to receive this at the time of this recording?
Dr. Anna Berkenblit: So, at the time of this recording, right now, patients can get daraxonrasib through the expanded access program.
It's basically a clinical trial that is offering daraxonrasib for free to patients, but it's the physicians who need to go through the process. And there are many steps involved in terms of getting access to daraxonrasib, which is not yet approved by FDA.
It's in a protocol; there needs to be an institutional review board review. The pharmacists at the institutions need to handle the drug. So I wish I could tell you that it's as easy as writing a prescription. It's not, right now, but the data are being sent to the FDA.
FDA will be reviewing the data, and we hope that from an overall benefit-risk perspective, FDA will be able to approve the drug, and then it will be commercially available to patients with previously treated metastatic pancreatic cancer. And that's just the first step.
Alisyn, you mentioned that for your husband, it worked for a while. This is just the first step. My guess is that because it worked so well in patients with previously treated metastatic pancreatic cancer, it may be even better in patients with frontline, or untreated, newly diagnosed metastatic pancreatic cancer. And then maybe even in the adjuvant setting, for people who had their cancer removed and are at risk for the cancer coming back again.
Those two settings are where there are ongoing phase 3 trials right now. In the first-line setting, comparing daraxonrasib by itself to chemotherapy, which is the standard of care, to the combination of daraxonrasib plus chemotherapy.
There's data suggesting that that combination can be given. And so it'll be important to see, of those three arms, which one is the best for patients. It's also being tested, like I said, in the adjuvant setting: people had their cancer removed, they're at risk for the cancer coming back again, and so they're going to be randomized to daraxonrasib by itself or placebo, and then be followed over time.
So those two settings are really important to figure out if we can benefit even more patients earlier in their disease.
Alisyn Camerota: That's amazing. That's all great news. So Dr. Ocean, what would you like to add, if anything? And also, you're on the front lines — are your patients now getting this drug?
Dr. Allyson Ocean: Not yet. Let me tell you about what excited me, similar to what Dr. Berkenblit said. It was a time where we've been trying for so long to be able to offer a therapy to patients that really helps them, and we were told by so many people — companies, scientists, everyone — that it just is not going to happen, it doesn't happen.
The protein KRAS, which is the main protein that's driving the growth of the pancreatic cancer, is in the form of a shape that previously they couldn't get something to link onto it to inhibit it.
Alisyn Camerota: It was like impermeable, like the shell or whatever.
Dr. Allyson Ocean: Yes, couldn't be penetrated. So what the scientists discovered is that they now can deliver a medicine or inhibitor in the form of, like, a glue. And they call it a molecular glue that kind of sticks in there and gets at it and then inhibits it.
And it's just amazing how, for so many years, people have been trying to crack this code, and it finally happened. And, as was said, this is just the beginning. We are going to have more RAS inhibitors, we are going to have more combinations, we are going to have RAS degraders, probably, which is a different mechanism to get rid of the protein.
We're probably going to have MEK inhibitors, we're going to have other inhibitors that are going to work on the RAS pathway to inhibit the growth of the cancer.
And why is this important? Because drugs have side effects. And one of the side effects that we mentioned was this rash, but as a possible side effect — I don't know if it was mentioned yet, but we can talk more about it — we're getting at the side effects of these drugs, how to best treat them, delay them, or make them better. And when all these drugs are coming out now, we have survival that's important, but we also have to remember that quality of life is very, very important too.
So drugs are being developed that will improve survival, definitely, but also improve quality of life. That was done with the Revolution Medicines medication, daraxonrasib, in terms of delaying pain and helping people get rid of pain. But other side effects have to be worked on as well in treating the patients. It's just a really, really good time.
I have to say it was a bittersweet time, though, at ASCO this year, because while there was a standing ovation for the data recognizing the gravity of it all, it was bittersweet because this drug didn't make it out in time for so many of our patients and family members who we've lost along the way. But whenever I say that to someone who's lost someone from this disease, they all say how incredibly grateful they are now that the next person will be able to benefit from these breakthroughs.
Alisyn Camerota: Yeah, of course. And I feel the same way. I mean, I also feel very lucky that we were on phase 1 of it, and I'm glad that it's continuing to show so much promise and so much effectiveness. Talk about those side effects for a second, because my husband did develop a face rash, but it was mild — I mean, it wasn't a big deal, and in fact the doctors treating him just sent him to a dermatologist, and then he got some cream, and it was kind of resolved.
But I see that Ben Sasse, a former Senator who's battling stage IV pancreatic cancer, had a particularly bad bout of it. It looks, Dr. Ocean — I mean, this is very pronounced, one extreme case, I guess.
Dr. Allyson Ocean: Yeah, I think with the Senator, it was at the beginning, when he started the pill, and at that point, the rash had just emerged. But now pictures of him show a much healthier skin picture, so I think that they have it under control now, and he's looking much better.
Getting back to your question about the expanded access program —
Alisyn Camerota: — And why, Dr. Ocean, you are still on the cutting edge and know so much about all sorts of treatments — why aren't your patients getting it right now?
Dr. Allyson Ocean: It's just a logistics thing, it's just an administrative hurdle that we're trying to get through. It has to get approved at every institution as a clinical trial, and that process just takes time. There are many institutions that already are giving it out to people, so it's going to happen. It's just that the patients want it like yesterday. And they also have to understand that it's only going to be given for what the data showed that it was helpful for, which is second-line. They're not going to allow us to give it to patients that are newly diagnosed or have had surgery and want to prevent it from coming back — that is not what this is for right now.
Alisyn Camerota: I see, okay, thank you, that's really helpful. So, Dr. Berkenblit, are there — we've talked about how there are other RAS inhibitors or KRAS drugs in the pipeline, I think you mentioned — so meaning there are other companies beyond Revolution Medicines that are now trying to crank this out.
Dr. Anna Berkenblit: That's right. Last count, there were over 70 in development, anywhere from preclinical to phase 1, phase 2, and phase 3. So it's a very active time right now, and this is great for patients. Every drug that has ever gotten approved by the FDA has gotten approved through clinical trials, and clinical trial participation is absolutely critical to develop new cancer drugs.
So daraxonrasib is the first of the RAS inhibitors that will hopefully make it over the finish line and become FDA-approved before the end of this year. But our hope is that there will be additional ones that may wind up being even better.
The ones that are in phase 3 right now include some that specifically target G12D, which is one mutation out of all of the RAS mutations, and it's responsible for about forty percent of the KRAS mutations in pancreatic cancer. And as Dr. Ocean mentioned, setidegrasib is one that is a degrader, so it's a different mechanism — it finds the RAS protein and then makes the RAS protein go away, so it's another mechanism. And we're really excited about it. There are other phase 3 trials that are ongoing.
There is one — Dr. Ocean mentioned a MEK inhibitor, it's called atebimetinib. So that one is going into the frontline setting. And then there's another drug called quemliclustat, which is an immunomodulator. That phase 3 trial was completed, and we're looking forward to data — I think it's around the first half of next year. So lots to be hopeful for. And as painful as it is to know all the patients who did not live to see the benefit of a RAS inhibitor, my hope is that with more and more drugs coming, patients will be able to go from one drug to the next to the next. And combinations are going to be really important to overcome resistance, or maybe even prevent resistance, so patients can benefit for a long time.
Alisyn Camerota: That's wonderful. And I know that you are both doctors, not supply chain experts, but I'm just curious — does Revolution Medicines have enough supply right now for all of the demand for this, and opening it up to all sorts of new hospitals and institutions? Do you know — can they just crank it out?
Dr. Anna Berkenblit: We spoke with them at ASCO, so a couple of weeks ago in early June, and as far as we know, they have not given any signal that they have concerns about being able to supply the drug.
Alisyn Camerota: It's amazing. Okay, so Dr. Ocean, we just heard a few other exciting emerging treatments that are in the pipeline. I don't understand fully all the language — I know MEK inhibitor, believe you and I have talked about that in the past, but I don't really understand it.
So just in layman's terms, what do you see in the pipeline that's coming up?
Dr. Allyson Ocean: Sure. So think of a cancer cell as having a path that is causing it to grow, and there are different stations along this pathway that are stimulating the growth of the cancer, and each of the stations is a protein.
And if you knock out one protein — the RAS protein, let's say, with these inhibitors or degraders — the cancer cells get smart, and they know to find another station to get their growth going. And one of those other stations is MEK, M-E-K. And that's downstream, a station down the path from RAS. And that's why inhibiting those proteins, or stations, can also help decrease the growth of the cancer. And so that's where the MEK inhibitor comes in. And I was very, very excited about the atebimetinib data.
We actually had the drug — the trial open at Cornell, and I enrolled a bunch of patients with it, and it's very well tolerated, which is a huge, huge benefit to these drugs when there's very little side effects associated with them.
They reported data — the Phase II data, in the frontline setting, it's now Phase II. So it hasn't been a complete study of it, we need Phase III data to confirm this. But in the phase 2 setting, the median overall survival was over seventeen months, and that's very, very impressive.
Alisyn Camerota: That is so heartening. For all these decades this seemed, as we've discussed, uncrackable, and now suddenly there are these new possibilities, and that's really exciting. So let's talk about vaccines, because a lot of people have heard about that. Dr. Berkenblit, maybe you can explain where we are with those — I know there's an mRNA vaccine, it seems promising, but just explain where you think we are today with these.
Dr. Anna Berkenblit: Yeah, so there are two sorts of flavors of vaccines. One is an mRNA vaccine that's a personalized vaccine — so it's developed based on a patient's tumor being removed. The patient has their tumor removed, and then they're at risk for their cancer coming back again, and so the vaccine is specifically made targeting the specific differences in the proteins of their specific tumor.
There's also a vaccine that's called an off-the-shelf vaccine, that is a mixture of the most common of these changes in the RAS protein. And both strategies are designed to boost the immune response to these foreign little bits of protein. And the way that I think about it right now, Alisyn, is that we have daraxonrasib, which is a pill that is helpful for almost all pancreatic cancer patients — there's phase 3 data in previously treated metastatic patients. So that's one end. The other end is we have these mRNA vaccines that have been tested in handfuls of patients, not yet in any randomized setting where there's data.
And each of them is very unique and sort of bespoke, and is designed for people whose cancer has been removed and they're at risk for their cancer coming back again. So two amazing bits of progress, but in very different parts of the pancreatic cancer landscape, if you will — I kind of think of them as bookends of progress.
Alisyn Camerota: But Dr. Ocean, in terms of the vaccine, if you have to have had your cancer removed, that means you're at a very early stage, and you've had the Whipple surgery.
Dr. Allyson Ocean: Yes. Correct. It's a lot easier to prevent microscopic cancer from coming back than it is to use a vaccine to treat visible cancer, visible to the eye and on the scan. So I think we're far away from that approach, but each day we're getting closer and closer to a prevention-type vaccine — that's what we're working on.
And really, that can be huge, because if you think about people who are at risk for pancreatic cancer, such as people who have a certain gene in their hereditary line of their family — let's say the BRCA gene, or Lynch syndrome patients — eventually, there may be vaccines that can intercept cancer development even before it happens. Not that a tumor was removed, but before they even get a tumor.
So I would add that there's a third dimension to the vaccines: there's even interception, there's treatment-prevention of it, and then later on, like, active treatment. But that's a little harder, I think, to solve that problem.
But definitely a very exciting time for vaccines, but it's still very early — just a few patients have benefited from it. But what's exciting to see is that the vaccines are successful at stimulating someone's immune system to fight the cancer and to go after it, and I think that that is scientifically a concept that is very important. Now that they've figured out they can harness the immune system, they can do much more with that.
Alisyn Camerota: That's great. Okay, so here's a question to both of you: on a scale of one to ten, ten being the highest, how excited are you — Dr. Berkenblit, I'll start with you — for everything we've just talked about, for everything that you see on the horizon, versus, say, anything you've seen over the past couple of decades?
Dr. Anna Berkenblit: For pancreatic cancer, 10, super excited. I like to say that pancreatic cancer has been sort of bringing up the rear — all these other tumor types, breast cancer, kidney cancer, colorectal cancer, lung cancer, they are treated now so differently than they were twenty years ago, when I was still taking care of patients.
Pancreatic cancer is just beginning to see that wave of benefit, and I'm really excited about it because I think daraxonrasib is just the beginning. We are going to see tremendous advances, the standards of care are going to change, and that's really great, and patients are going to have options, which is really great.
The flip side of that, though, is that it's going to get really complicated for healthcare providers to keep up with the evolving landscape and the knowledge and the information. And it's going to be really hard for patients to keep up, to keep track of their options, including clinical trial options. So I would just encourage patients, caregivers, and family members to explore clinical trial options at each step in their journey, because that's the way to get access to what might be even better therapy coming. And PanCAN has case managers who talk with more patients and caregivers than any other organization.
Alisyn Camerota: So, in other words, Dr. Berkenblit, if somebody has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, they should call PanCAN and talk to somebody about the clinical trials, because I know that that is a Byzantine maze to get into, and unless your doctor can shepherd you through it, it's really hard to figure it out. So there will be a human to talk to at PanCAN?
Dr. Anna Berkenblit: That's right, that's what distinguishes us.
Alisyn Camerota: Okay, Dr. Ocean, are you also rating this month all of the developments that we've just talked about a 10? Are you at that same scale?
Dr. Allyson Ocean: I am, I'm definitely a 10. But I also want to bring up to everyone's attention that there was another exciting, different approach to treating locally advanced pancreatic cancer that got approved in 2026 also — this was like the year of therapies for pancreatic cancer.
This is called Optune Pax®. And full disclosure, I'm on the board of the company Novocure, but this was FDA approved for the treatment of locally advanced pancreatic cancer in combination with chemotherapy. So this is pancreatic cancer that is diagnosed, is not operable, cannot be removed by an operation, but has not spread, is not metastatic — so it's contained to the pancreas. And what is this therapy?
This is a medical device that patients wear, and it involves delivering electric fields, electricity, to the tumor to disrupt cell division, so these cells can't divide and become daughter cells. What they found was that this is the first clinical trial ever in locally advanced disease that showed an improvement in one-year survival and two-year survival when people wore the device.
Alisyn Camerota: Wow, that's amazing. I'm so glad you brought that to our attention. You sure you're not at an 11 of excitement?
Dr. Allyson Ocean: Yes, maybe — yes, I'm actually like close to 20, if you will. But yes, I'm very excited, because so much more research is going on now, and to be able to say, oh, we should do this, or maybe we can add this to it now — it's just so exciting to be able to treat patients that have more tools to use for them.
Alisyn Camerota: So great. Well, Dr. Berkenblit, what have I missed? What else would you like to say?
Dr. Anna Berkenblit: I think you've covered it beautifully, Alisyn. I mean, lots of progress — I think we've covered all the ground that we need to, and we just need to keep going. This is just the beginning, this is just the beginning.
Alisyn Camerota: It's a wonderful message, that's a wonderful note to end on. Dr. Ocean, anything else?
Dr. Allyson Ocean: Absolutely. I feel the same way — we are at a turning point, a huge turning point in figuring out this disease and making people live longer, live better. And I want to encourage anyone who's newly diagnosed or navigating this journey — maybe you've had a treatment already — look and ask your doctor for clinical trials that are available for that patient's time in their therapy, because that's the only way we're going to move the bar, and we've done it already, and we'll continue to do it.
So if you can find a clinical trial, then I think that's your best option first and foremost, and then also use these new advancements that are going to be coming out shortly.
Alisyn Camerota: That's great advice. Well, Dr. Berkenblit, Dr. Ocean, thank you so much for all the really encouraging information. It's wonderful to talk to you. I also want to thank our listeners for joining us.
I want to thank our sponsor, Revolution Medicines.
I'm Alisyn Camerota, and I'll see you next time on PancChat.
Julie Fleshman: Hi, I'm Julie Fleshman, President and CEO of PanCAN. If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, navigating this journey can feel overwhelming, but you don't have to do it alone.
To learn more about the latest breakthroughs in pancreatic cancer treatment, be sure to explore the resources available for patients and caregivers. You can find PanCAN at pancan.org and Let's Win at letswinpc.org.
Together, PanCAN and Let's Win are committed to guiding you through every step of the pancreatic cancer journey, offering support, information, and hope. In our next episode, we'll be speaking again with Dr. Anna Berkenblit and Dr. Allyson Ocean on what pancreatic cancer clinical trials and treatments are coming down the pipeline next year.
Don't forget to follow PancChat to get new episodes delivered twice a month right in your podcast feed. PancChat is available on all major platforms wherever you get your podcasts.