Two revolutionary and promising treatments for one of the deadliest cancers were spotlighted at the annual meeting of the American Association of Cancer Research this week.

Researchers presented the results of clinical trials of an mRNA vaccine that kept patients alive for six years and a drug that shrank tumors in nearly half of pancreatic cancer patients, outperforming standard chemotherapy.

In 2026, the American Cancer Society projects approximately 67,530 Americans will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, with 52,740 expected deaths. As the third leading cause of cancer-related death, it maintains a low 5-year relative survival rate of 13%, with only 17% of patients diagnosed at an early stage.

According to  The Wall Street Journal, the revolutionary new treatments may change the landscape for pancreatic cancer. Germany’s BioNTech has developed an mRNA vaccine that was given to 16 patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer tumors early in the course of their disease. Eight responded well to the vaccine and seven of these patients are still alive today, well exceeding previous prognosis for the disease.

“These early results show this new immunotherapy approach has the potential to make a difference for one of the deadliest cancers,” says Dr. Vinod Balachandran, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), the trial’s principal investigator. “The latest data from this small study suggest vaccines can meaningfully stimulate the immune system in some patients with pancreatic cancer — and these patients continue to do well years after vaccination.”

The vaccines were custom-made for each patient based on the unique changes in the tumor’s DNA, according to an MSK news release.

The new drug, developed by Revolution Medicines, targets the RAS mutation which affects 90% of pancreatic tumors and has been nearly impossible to treat with drugs.

Results of a clinical trial showed that in a study of nearly 40 people with late-stage pancreatic cancer, the drug, called daraxonrasib, shrank tumors in nearly half the study participants. These results prompted researchers to wonder if the new drug might eventually replace chemotherapy.

"This is going to be a paradigm-shifting outcome," said Dr. Andrew Coveler, director of the Pancreatic Cancer Specialty Clinic at Fred Hutch Cancer Center in Seattle, who wasn't involved in any of the studies. "In 15 years, this is probably the first real big change or anticipated change in pancreas cancer."

The results came days after RevMed reported that daraxonrasib nearly doubled overall survival for people with advanced pancreatic cancer compared with chemotherapy in a larger, later-stage trial.

"We have enormous momentum now toward our goal of changing the treatment landscape for patients" with RAS mutations, said RevMed’s chief executive Mark Goldsmith.

Researchers note that both treatments are in their early stages of development and more clinical trials are needed before they are approved.