PancChat Podcast with Alisyn Camerota

Up to 95% of pancreatic cancer patients have a KRAS mutation in their tumor. For decades, it was considered impossible to target with a drug. What changed?

To get the latest information, host Alisyn Camerota is joined by Dr. Eileen O'Reilly, medical oncologist and Winthrop Rockefeller Endowed Chair in Medical Oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, to unpack what RAS and KRAS actually are, why this gene resisted treatment for so long, and what the recent approval of Rasonque™ (daraxonrasib) means for patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer.

Dr. O'Reilly explains the biology behind RAS signaling, the different mutation types found in pancreatic cancer (including G12D, G12V, and G12R), how the new class of RAS-targeting drugs works, what testing for a RAS mutation involves, and what "RAS wild type" means for the small subset of patients without a detectable mutation. She also shares her perspective on what this breakthrough means for the field after years of limited progress, and where research is headed next.

PancChat is produced in collaboration with Let's Win Pancreatic Cancer and PanCAN.
PancChat is sponsored by Revolution Medicines.

Resources:

FDA Approves RASONQUE™ (daraxonrasib) - PanCAN
The FDA Approves Rasonque™ (Daraxonrasib) - Let's Win
Daraxonrasib: What To Know About Common Side Effects

Let's Win Pancreatic Cancer
Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN)
Let's Win Clinical Trial Finder
PanCAN Clinical Trial Finder
Let's Win Doctor Finder
PanCAN Patient Services

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) just approved a treatment that doubled survival time for patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer — what does this landmark approval mean for you or a loved one?

To get the latest information, host Alisyn Camerota is joined by Dr. Brian Wolpin, a medical oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Wolpin breaks down what the FDA's approval of Rasonque™ (daraxonrasib) means for patients, how the drug works differently from chemotherapy, who's eligible to receive it, what side effects look like and how they're managed, and what's next as researchers explore other types of RAS inhibitors, novel combinations, different stages of disease, and more.

PancChat is produced in collaboration with Let's Win Pancreatic Cancer and PanCAN. 

Thanks to our sponsor, Revolution Medicines.

Resources:
FDA Approves RASONQUE™ (daraxonrasib) - PanCAN
The FDA Approves Rasonque™ (Daraxonrasib) - Let's Win
Daraxonrasib: What To Know About Common Side Effects

Let's Win Pancreatic Cancer
Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN)
Let's Win Clinical Trial Finder
PanCAN Clinical Trial Finder
Let's Win Doctor Finder
PanCAN Patient Services

Diabetes and pancreatic cancer often go hand in hand. Between 30 to 50% of patients have diabetes or prediabetes at diagnosis, and another 40% develop it during treatment.

To get the latest information, host Alisyn Camerota is joined by endocrinologist and Director of the Duke Onco-Endocrinology Program at the Duke Center for Cancer Immunotherapy, Dr. Afreen Shariff, an Associate Director for the Cancer Therapy Toxicity Program and a member of the faculty in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism at Duke University School of Medicine.

In this episode, Dr. Shariff discusses managing pancreatic cancer and diabetes, and how surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation can all affect blood sugar as a direct, on-target effect of treatment. She emphasizes working with an endocrinologist and oncologist to help control diabetes during and after treatment.

Her advice: get a clear diagnosis, know your numbers, and don't hesitate to bring up blood sugar concerns with your oncology team.

PancChat is produced in collaboration with Let's Win Pancreatic Cancer and PanCAN.

This episode is sponsored by Revolution Medicines.

For more information, visit letswinpc.org and pancan.org.

RESOURCES:

Let's Win's Diabetes Section
PancCAN Diabetes and Pancreatic Cancer
PanCAN Patient Services
Let's Win Doctor Finder
Let's Win Clinical Trial Finder
PanCAN Clinical Trial Finder

Almost one in four people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer are also diagnosed with diabetes. In this episode of PancChat, host Alisyn Camerota talks with Dr. Suresh Chari, professor of medicine at MD Anderson Cancer Center and principal investigator for the PanCAN Early Detection Initiative, about the complex relationship between diabetes and pancreatic cancer.

Dr. Chari explains why new-onset diabetes can be an early warning sign for pancreatic cancer, why a sudden rise in blood sugar alongside unexplained weight loss is a pattern worth watching, and why early detection remains one of the biggest challenges in pancreatic cancer research. He also shares an update on the clinical trials underway — including AI-assisted imaging — aimed at catching pancreatic cancer earlier in people with new-onset diabetes.

This episode is sponsored by Revolution Medicines.

To learn more about pancreatic cancer support and resources, visit letswinpc.org and pancan.org.

Resources:

Let's Win Diabetes Info
PanCAN Diabetes Info
Let's Win Diabetes and Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Risk Quiz
PanCAN Patient Services
The Diabetes and Pancreatic Cancer Connection 

With one new drug against the KRAS mutation on the path to FDA approval, what is the status of other KRAS drugs, as well as different types of treatment? 

To get the latest information, host Alisyn Camerota is joined once again by Dr. Allyson Ocean, medical oncologist and director of the Pancreatic Cancer Research Program at Weill Cornell Medicine, and a co-founder of Let's Win, along with Dr. Anna Berkenblit, Chief Scientific and Medical Officer for PanCAN, who brings more than two decades of experience in the research and clinical development of novel anticancer therapies.

Together, they discuss the status of pancreatic cancer vaccine research, walk through what a drug's journey from idea to approval actually looks like, and explain in plain terms what separates a phase 1 clinical trial from a phase 2 or phase 3 trial — and why every phase matters for patients considering enrollment.

This episode is brought to you by our sponsor, Revolution Medicines.

To learn more about the latest breakthroughs in pancreatic cancer treatment, visit letswinpc.org and pancan.org.

PancChat is produced in collaboration with Let's Win Pancreatic Cancer and PanCAN.

New pancreatic cancer treatments have not been approved in many years, but the first half of 2026 has seen some significant treatment advances. In this episode, host Alisyn Camerota talks with Dr. Anna Berkenblit, PanCAN’s Chief Scientific and Medical Officer, and Dr. Allyson Ocean, director of the pancreatic cancer research program at Weill Cornell Medicine and co-founder of Let's Win Pancreatic Cancer, about what's changing and what it means for patients.

Dr. Berkenblit and Dr. Ocean discuss the phase 3 results for daraxonrasib, a RAS-targeted therapy now available to some patients through an FDA expanded access program.  They also cover the broader pipeline of RAS inhibitors and degraders in development, progress on personalized and off-the-shelf pancreatic cancer vaccines, and tumor-treating fields (TTF)—brand-name Optune Pax—a newly approved device-based therapy for locally advanced disease. Dr. Berkenblit and Dr. Ocean also focus on what these developments mean for patients navigating treatment decisions today, and why clinical trial participation remains central to progress in the field.

Thank you to our sponsor, Revolution Medicines.

Learn more at letswinpc.org and pancan.org.

Resources:

PanCAN Patient Services 

Let’s Win Doctor Finder 

PanCAN Clinical Trial Finder

Let’s Win Clinical Trial Finder

Accessing Daraxonrasib: A Quick Primer 

PancChat is produced in collaboration with Let's Win Pancreatic Cancer and PanCAN.

Roberta Luna is a  24-year pancreatic cancer survivor. When she was diagnosed in 2002, her doctors gave her months to live. But she was determined that the same disease that had already taken her father and uncle would not take her. In this episode, Roberta talks with host Alisyn Camerota about navigating a stage three diagnosis, the role of clinical trials, the diet and lifestyle changes she credits with her health, and the survivor's guilt that comes with outliving a prognosis. She also shares why she's never made a bucket list — and why she jumps out of a plane every April instead.

Listen to this conversation about hope, advocacy, and finding your "why."

PancChat is a collaboration between Let's Win Pancreatic Cancer and PanCAN, sponsored by Revolution Medicines.

What is it like to live with pancreatic cancer?.

Randi Ervin was diagnosed with a pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (PNET) in her 30s. Even after a total pancreatectomy she remains in treatment to keep the tumor in check.  

In the years since her diagnosis she has become an insulin-dependent diabetic, lost her mother to pancreatic cancer, and built a full life as a health equity advocate and volunteer with PanCAN's Survivor Council and Health Equity Committee.

In this episode, host Alisyn Camerota talks with Randi about what survivorship actually looks like a decade out — the monthly octreotide injections, the annual DOTATATE scans, the diabetes management, and the emotional weight of being both a patient and a caregiver. They also discuss why sharing your diagnosis with a wider circle can matter, how health equity shapes who gets to access good care, and why the five-year mark is not, in fact, the finish line.

For more survivor stories, visit letswinpc.org. 

For patient services and support, visit pancan.org.

PancChat is produced in collaboration with Let's Win Pancreatic Cancer and PanCAN.

PancChat sponsored by Revolution Medicines. 

What if artificial intelligence could catch pancreatic cancer before a radiologist's eye does?

In this episode of PancChat, host Alisyn Camerota speaks with Dr. Elliot Fishman, professor in the Departments of Radiology and Radiological Science, Oncology, and Surgery at Johns Hopkins Medicine, member of the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, and co-principal investigator of the FELIX Project for Early Detection of Pancreatic Cancer. Dr. Fishman shares how AI-powered imaging tools are being trained to detect tumors as small as two centimeters — and why that capability could save tens of thousands of lives a year. He also discusses the FELIX 2.0 project, the challenge of scaling AI across different hospital systems, and how AI is already transforming cancer care beyond pancreatic cancer, from mammography to drug development.

PancChat is a collaboration between Let's Win Pancreatic Cancer and PanCAN.

The PancChat Podcast is sponsored by Revolution Medicines. 

Resources:

Let's Win Pancreatic Cancer 

PanCAN 

Let’s Win Clinical Trial Finder 

PanCAN Clinical Trial Finder 

PanCAN Patient Services 

Pancreatic cancer is most often caught late — but that is starting to change. In this episode of PancChat, host Alisyn Camerota sits down with Dr. Raymond Wadlow, a gastrointestinal oncologist at the Inova Schar Cancer Institute and director of the High Risk Pancreatic Clinic, to talk about what screening and surveillance actually mean for people at elevated risk of developing pancreatic cancer.

Dr. Wadlow walks through who qualifies for screening, which genetic mutations and family history patterns matter, and what the current imaging protocols look like. He also explains the promise and limitations of blood-based tests in development, the challenges of interval cancers, and how the PRECEDE consortium — now spanning 64 sites worldwide — is working to prove that finding this disease earlier saves lives.

PancChat is a collaboration between Let's Win Pancreatic Cancer and PanCAN. Find us wherever you listen to podcasts.