Director’s Corner: Ruesch Center

Posted in Announcements

Finally! We have seen a major breakthrough in the treatment of one of the most difficult cancers that we face, the newly approved therapy targeting RAS mutations in pancreatic cancer.  Not only was the new medicine effective in patients who had received significant prior therapies, but we fully anticipate that this approach will be even more impactful in earlier lines of therapy with the hope of increasing the number of patients cured of their disease.  We also see that this is only the beginning.  Several new therapies should emerge over the next 1 to 2 years with hopefully similar or improved benefit and lower toxicity.  Believe me when I say that both we and our patients are excited about this development.

In contrast, however, a similar approach being tested in colorectal cancer just lost its accelerated approval by the FDA.  The early strong signal that was seen targeting RAS G12C in a phase 2 clinical setting was not upheld in a phase 3 randomized trial, forcing the FDA to withdraw its approval.  This is a major surprise and setback for us in the colorectal cancer world.  Why does a similar approach work so well in one cancer and then not in another?

Simply put, we have more work to do.  By combining our scientific knowledge with industry support and patient enthusiasm and participation in clinical trials, we hope to accelerate cures in GI cancers.  But we must not forget that we are at a most vulnerable moment in time, as the federal government has made significant cuts to the funding of basic scientific discovery.  We intend to continue to work, but know that we need all of us working together if we are to successfully restore this critical basic funding.  Effort now will translate into more cures tomorrow, but it will take all of our voices.