When Ben Sasse told the world his tumors had shrunk 76%, it felt like a miracle. Now, the drug behind that number has the science to back it up - and it may be the biggest breakthrough in pancreatic cancer history.
Revolution Medicines' experimental pill daraxonrasib - the same oral drug Sasse has been taking as part of a clinical trial at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston - just released Phase 3 results from a trial called RASolute 302. The findings are stunning: patients on daraxonrasib survived an average of 13.2 months compared to just 6.7 months on standard chemotherapy in second-line treatment. For a cancer where the five-year survival rate sits at roughly 3%, that is not a small win.
Sasse, 54, enrolled in the trial after doctors gave him three to four months to live following his Stage 4 diagnosis last December. He has now passed Day 100. He told STAT News the drug has "seemingly extended both quantity and quality of life" beyond what the initial prognosis suggested.
The results carry weight far beyond one man's story. RBC Capital Markets analyst Leonid Timashev described daraxonrasib as "potentially the biggest breakthrough in pancreatic cancer ever," and the drug works differently from chemotherapy - it targets the RAS protein mutation that drives the cancer's growth.
There is still a cost. Because RAS proteins exist throughout the body, the drug cannot distinguish between mutated and normal cells, producing harsh side effects including severe skin bleeding - visible on Sasse's face during his widely shared New York Times interview last week.
Sasse's CA 19-9 levels - a common biomarker for pancreatic cancer - dropped from over 8,000 at diagnosis down to 374, alongside the reported reduction in tumor volume. He continues the treatment alongside managing daily pain, nausea, and fatigue.
For Sasse, the clinical trial was never just about survival. In every interview, he has pointed back to his faith - crediting not medicine alone, but God, for the peace that has carried him through. He has invoked the Apostle Paul's words - to live is Christ, to die is gain - as the foundation under everything else. The drug may be buying time. Faith, he says, is what's making that time worth living.
The Phase 3 data is expected to be reviewed for potential FDA approval pathways. Revolution Medicines has also become a prime acquisition target, with its stock surging nearly 185% over the past year - a sign the medical world is watching closely.
Ben Sasse wasn't supposed to still be here. But he is - and the drug keeping him alive may soon be available to the 64,000 Americans diagnosed with pancreatic cancer every year.
Related: Ben Sasse Reveals Tumors Shrinking 76% and Why He's Thanking God for Pancreatic Cancer
