A new “smart” injection has shown remarkable results in shrinking head and neck cancer tumours within just six weeks, offering fresh hope for patients with advanced disease.
The drug, amivantamab, was tested in a major international trial and could transform treatment for people whose cancer has returned or spread after standard therapies such as chemotherapy and immunotherapy.
Head and neck cancer is the sixth most common cancer globally. Once it recurs, treatment options are limited — but researchers say amivantamab may change that.
Presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology conference in Berlin, the trial found that 76% of patients treated with the drug saw their tumours shrink or stop growing. Responses appeared within six weeks, and most side effects were mild to moderate.
“This could represent a real shift in how we treat head and neck cancer,” said Prof Kevin Harrington of the Institute of Cancer Research in London. “To see this level of benefit for patients who have endured numerous treatments is incredibly encouraging.”
Amivantamab, developed by Janssen, works in three ways: it blocks two key growth pathways (EGFR and MET) that fuel tumour resistance and helps the immune system attack cancer cells. Unlike conventional treatments that require lengthy hospital infusions, the drug is delivered as a simple under-the-skin injection, making it quicker and easier to administer — potentially even outside hospital settings in the future.
In the Orig-AMI 4 trial, which involved 86 patients across 11 countries, average progression-free survival reached 6.8 months.
One participant, Carl Walsh, 59, from Birmingham, joined the study after other treatments failed. “Before starting the trial, I couldn’t talk properly or eat without pain,” he said. “Now the swelling has gone down, and sometimes I even forget that I have cancer.”
Researchers say the early findings suggest amivantamab could become a major advance in treating one of the most difficult forms of cancer to manage.
