RE:RE:G12C/G12V KRAS mutation in PC & CRC patients respond to PelaNovember 21, 2023 - Timothy Yap, Ph.D., used to see patients nearing the end of their cancer journey in his phase 1 department at the University of Texas' MD Anderson Cancer Center. Either they fit into a phase 1 trial, or they were off to hospice for end-of-life care. Things have changed, and the situation at his department is a little more hopeful nowadays.
“What's interesting is that patients are now getting referred at a much earlier line of treatment," Yap said in an interview. "In the past, 10-15 years ago, phase 1 is kind of like, you lost hope before you go to hospice. But that's no longer the case."
Why? Because cancer drugs are getting better. More specific. More tolerable. And it’s not just in the lab where patients are seeing these benefits. Yap points to advancements in treatments for KRAS G12D mutations that see patients getting referred earlier, simply because physicians now can test the exact genetic makeup of a patient’s cancer.
Another piece to the front-line puzzle is the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)—the drug pricing legislation that has become a rallying cry for the pharma industry.... it pushes pharmas to rethink where they start therapies in the line of treatment.
https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/pharma-racing-oncologys-first-line-causing-rethink-early-stage-care