{"id":7848,"date":"2026-04-14T11:42:28","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T11:42:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/?p=7848"},"modified":"2026-04-14T11:42:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T11:42:28","slug":"pancreatic-cancer-breakthrough-as-scientists-develop-new-drug-that-doubles-survival-rate-of-silent-killer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/?p=7848","title":{"rendered":"Pancreatic cancer breakthrough as scientists develop new drug that ‘doubles survival rate’ of silent killer"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n

A pioneering new drug for pancreatic cancer<\/a> could double survival rates and cut the risk of death by more than a third – raising hopes for thousands of patients worldwide.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pancreatic cancer survival rates are among the lowest of all cancers, with only around 10 per cent of patients in Britain living longer than a year after diagnosis.<\/p>\n

Researchers at Northwestern University in Illinois<\/a>, US,\u00a0have developed a drug named elraglusib which has shown promising results in a new\u00a0clinical trial that combined it with standard chemotherapy.<\/p>\n

The study, published in Nature Medicine, involved 233 patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer –\u00a0meaning the disease had already spread to other parts of the body – from North America and Europe.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Participants were randomly assigned to receive either standard chemotherapy or chemotherapy combined with elraglusib.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The results showed that patients given the new drug were twice as likely to be alive after one year compared with those receiving chemotherapy alone.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Patients receiving elraglusib lived for an average of 10.1 months, compared with 7.2 months for those treated with chemotherapy alone.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It also reduced the overall risk of death by 38 per cent.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"A <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

A pioneering new drug for pancreatic cancer could cut the risk of death by more than a third<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Around 44 per cent of patients given the drug were still alive after one year, compared with 22 per cent in the chemotherapy-only group.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After two years, 13 per cent of those taking elraglusib remained alive, while no patients receiving only chemotherapy survived that long.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dr. Devalingam Mahalingam, professor of medicine at Northwestern University and the study’s lead author, said:\u00a0‘Pancreatic cancer remains one of the most challenging solid tumours to treat, but these findings provide cautious optimism for patients.<\/p>\n

‘While these results will need to be confirmed in phase three trials, observing survival benefit in such a difficult-to-treat cancer is encouraging.’<\/p>\n

Side effects were broadly similar to those seen with chemotherapy, although slightly more common in the elraglusib group.\u00a0<\/p>\n

These included low white blood cell counts, fatigue and temporary changes to vision. However, all symptoms were reported to be reversible.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pancreatic cancer<\/a>\u00a0typically develops silently, with few clear warning signs, and is all too often only discovered once it has already spread, and prognosis is bleak.<\/p>\n

Although nearly half of cases occur in the over-75s, there is growing evidence rates may be rising in younger people \u2013 particularly women \u2013 with the most aggressive form, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, driving the increase.<\/p>\n