BATON ROUGE — A drug recently approved by the FDA for pancreatic cancer is now showing promise in early-stage lung cancer trials.

The drug, Rasonque, was FDA-approved for pancreatic cancer last week. Researchers are now finding it may also be effective against non-small cell lung cancer.

A study looked at more than 130 patients with non-small cell lung cancer who had already tried other therapies with little to no success. After taking the daily pill for about three weeks at a time, more than 30 percent of those patients saw tumor reductions.

Rasonque works by affecting RAS proteins, which are mutated in some of the deadliest cancers. The drug helped nearly double the average survival time in pancreatic cancer, though more research is still needed to evaluate its effects on lung cancer.

The drug does come with side effects including rash, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, but researchers say their latest study shows the treatment is safe.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide. In the U.S., an estimated 125,000 deaths are expected this year alone.

Further clinical trials are already underway and those results will be critical before the FDA considers approving Rasonque for lung cancer.