Cancer Jab Can Eradicate Entire Tumours In Patients — Study

 

Doctors have developed an injection that eradicated entire tumours in patients with treatment-resistant cancers during a clinical trial, offering new hope for thousands of people with limited treatment options.

The injection, known as amivantamab, shrank tumours in 42 per cent of patients with recurrent and metastatic head and neck cancer, according to an international study led by the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), London.

Researchers administered amivantamab to patients whose cancer had stopped responding to standard treatments, including immunotherapy and platinum-based

chemotherapy. Unlike many cancer drugs that require intravenous infusions, amivantamab is delivered through a small injection.

The ICR said the injectable treatment is faster and more convenient for patients, while also being significantly easier to administer in outpatient clinics. It is given every three weeks, and reported side effects were generally mild to moderate.

Amivantamab has already been approved for several subtypes of lung cancer across different lines of therapy.

Professor Kevin Harrington, Professor of Biological Cancer Therapies at the ICR and Consultant Oncologist at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, described the results as remarkable.

“These are unprecedentedly strong responses in patients whose disease has become resistant to both chemotherapy and immunotherapy,” he said.

“This is a group of patients for whom treatment options are extremely limited, so seeing this level of benefit is very striking. This treatment has the potential to benefit many thousands of patients each year.”

Head and neck cancer is the sixth most common cancer worldwide and affects around 12,800 people annually in the UK.

The trial involved 102 patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) whose cancer continued to progress despite standard treatments. Participants were recruited from 55 hospitals across 11 countries and received amivantamab as a standalone treatment. The drug is being developed by Johnson & Johnson.

The results showed that tumours shrank in 43 participants. Of these, 15 experienced complete tumour disappearance, while 28 saw significant tumour reduction.

Researchers found that patients receiving amivantamab lived for a median of 12.5 months after starting treatment, despite having a cancer type associated with dire outcomes once standard therapies fail.

Tumours typically began responding within six weeks, and patients experienced a median period of just over six and a half months before their cancer started growing again.

One participant with tongue cancer reported significant improvements in his quality of life. During his 17th treatment cycle, he said the therapy had reduced his pain and swelling and eliminated the debilitating side effects he previously experienced during chemotherapy.

“I now feel able to live a normal life,” he said in a statement released by the ICR.

“Before starting the trial, I struggled to speak properly and found eating difficult because of the swelling and pain.

“Since beginning treatment, the swelling has reduced significantly, and my pain levels have improved considerably. I’m also no longer experiencing the same life-impacting side effects that I had during chemotherapy.”

Professor Kristian Helin, Chief Executive of the ICR, said the findings mark an important breakthrough in cancer treatment.

“Achieving this level of tumour response and encouraging survival outcomes in such a challenging-to-treat group represents a significant step forward,” he said.