A new cancer injection has shown promising results in patients whose disease had stopped responding to standard treatments, with doctors reporting that the therapy eliminated tumors in some cases. The treatment, called amivantamab, was tested in an international clinical trial involving 102 patients with advanced head and neck cancers.
Participants had cancers that had spread or returned after previous treatment and had already undergone chemotherapy and immunotherapy without success.
Researchers found that tumors shrank or disappeared in 43 patients, representing more than 40% of those enrolled in the study. Among them, 28 experienced significant tumor reduction, while 15 patients saw their tumors disappear completely.
The findings will be presented on Sunday at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago, the world’s largest cancer conference.
Hard-to-treat cancers respond
Experts said the results are particularly important because the trial focused on head and neck cancers not linked to human papillomavirus (HPV). These cancers are generally more aggressive and more difficult to treat than HPV-related forms of the disease.
Kevin Harrington, a professor of biological cancer therapies at the Institute of Cancer Research in London and a consultant oncologist at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, described the responses as unusually strong for patients with few remaining treatment options.
“These are unprecedentedly strong responses in patients whose disease has become resistant to both chemotherapy and immunotherapy,” Harrington said.
Patients treated with amivantamab lived for a median of 12.5 months after starting therapy, despite having a form of cancer that typically has poor outcomes once standard treatments stop working.
Drug attacks cancer on multiple fronts
Amivantamab attacks cancer through three separate mechanisms. The drug blocks EGFR, a protein that helps tumors grow, and targets MET, a pathway cancer cells often use to evade treatment. It also helps activate the immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells.
Researchers believe this multi-target approach may help overcome one of the biggest challenges in cancer care: treatment resistance.
The drug also offers practical advantages for patients and healthcare providers. Unlike many cancer therapies that require intravenous infusions, amivantamab is administered through a small injection under the skin once every three weeks.
Most side effects reported during the trial were mild to moderate, and fewer than 10% of patients stopped treatment because of adverse effects.
Patient reports major improvement
One of the participants, 56-year-old Carl Walsh, joined the OrigAMI-4 trial after treatments for his tongue cancer failed to control the disease. He said the therapy significantly improved his quality of life.
Before entering the trial, swelling and pain made it difficult for him to eat and speak. After starting treatment, those symptoms gradually improved, and he was eventually able to return to a normal diet and regain his speech. “I now feel able to live a normal life,” Walsh said.
Researchers expand testing
Amivantamab is currently being evaluated in about 60 clinical trials. While most focus on lung cancer, researchers are also studying the treatment of colorectal, brain, and gastric cancers.
Scientists said further research is needed to confirm the long-term benefits of the treatment. However, the latest findings suggest the drug could offer a new option for patients with advanced cancers that have exhausted conventional therapies.
