Scientists are not usually an excitable(易激动的，易兴奋的) bunch. So when many thousands of them gave a standing ovation(起立鼓掌) at a conference in Chicago, it meant something special had happened. The applause(掌声，喝彩) was for the results of clinical trials of a drug called daraxonrasib, developed by Revolution Medicines, a company based in California. It is designed to treat pancreatic cancer. The drug almost double(使加倍)d median survival times(中位生存期) from 6.7 months to 13.2 months. This victory over one of the most challenging cancers was an emotional(情感上的，激动人心的) moment for many.
科学家通常不是容易激动的一群。因此，当成千上万的科学家在芝加哥的一场会议上起立鼓掌时，这意味着有特别的事情发生了。掌声是为一种名为daraxonrasib的药物的临床试验结果而响起的，该药由加利福尼亚州的Revolution Medicines公司开发，旨在治疗胰腺癌。该药物将中位生存期从6.7个月几乎翻倍至13.2个月。这场对抗最具挑战性癌症之一的胜利对许多人来说是一个激动人心的时刻。
The drug is not a cure(治愈，疗法). Cancers often develop resistance(耐药性，抵抗) to targeted drugs such as daraxonrasib. Instead, its promise for patients is that, when used alongside other treatments, it might buy them months more life(为他们争取几个月的生命). Pancreatic cancers are aggressive(侵袭性的，好斗的) and usually symptomless(无症状的). They are mostly diagnosed after they have already spread around the body. Few patients survive longer than a year. Pancreatic cancers are also resistant to immunotherapy(免疫疗法), a class of treatment that encourages the body’s immune system to fight tumours, and which has had great success in many other areas of oncology(肿瘤学). A mutation(突变) in a protein called KRAS, which drives most pancreatic cancers, creates an environment around the tumour that is hostile(敌对的，不利的) to immune cells.
这种药物并非治愈性疗法。癌症常对靶向药物（如daraxonrasib）产生耐药性。相反，它对患者的希望在于，当与其他治疗联合使用时，可能为他们争取几个月的生命。胰腺癌具有侵袭性且通常无症状，大多在扩散到全身后才被诊断出来。很少有患者存活超过一年。胰腺癌还对免疫疗法耐药——这类疗法通过鼓励身体免疫系统攻击肿瘤，已在肿瘤学许多其他领域取得巨大成功。一种名为KRAS的蛋白质突变驱动了大多数胰腺癌，它在肿瘤周围创造了不利于免疫细胞的微环境。
Daraxonrasib is expected to speed its way through(快速通过（审批流程）) approval(批准，许可) in America. Although it was given in the trial to patients who had already tried chemotherapy(化疗), it seems likely to become a first-line treatment(一线治疗) for the disease. The drug works by inhibiting(抑制) KRAS. Other work suggests this also changes the environment around tumours in ways that might make them more susceptible(易受影响的，敏感的) to immunotherapy. If that theory proves correct, it could improve survival times still further.
Daraxonrasib预计将快速通过美国审批。尽管在试验中它被用于已经尝试过化疗的患者，但它似乎有望成为该疾病的一线治疗药物。该药物通过抑制KRAS发挥作用。其他研究表明，这也会改变肿瘤周围的微环境，可能使其对免疫疗法更敏感。如果这一理论被证实，它可能进一步延长生存期。