Doctors have described the results of a clinical trial for a new triple-action anti-cancer injection that has reportedly led to the complete disappearance of tumors in patients with advanced cancer as “unprecedented”. cancer.
The international study was carried out in 11 countries and concerned patients whose cancer had spread or recurred and was no longer responding to existing treatments.
The drug, with the name amivandamab (amivantamab), caused tumors to shrink in more than a third of participants, with impressive results already being recorded within the first few weeks. In 15 patients the tumors disappeared completely.
Professor of Biological Cancer Therapies at the Institute of Cancer Research London, Kevin Harrington, stated:
“These are unprecedentedly strong responses in patients whose disease had become resistant to both chemotherapy and immunotherapy. This is a group of patients with extremely limited treatment options, so the level of benefit we’re seeing is really impressive.”
He, who is also a consultant oncologist at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, added that the treatment “has the potential to benefit many thousands of patients every year”.
The results were presented in Chicago at its annual conference American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the largest international organization in the field of cancer.
The study involved 102 patients with head and neck cancer, the sixth most common cancer worldwide. Tumors shrank or disappeared in 43 patients. Of these, 28 showed significant tumor reduction, while 15 achieved complete disappearance of the disease.
The researchers reported that similar results have already been observed in lung cancer patients. Amivatamab, developed by Johnson & Johnson, is currently being evaluated in about 60 clinical trials for various types of cancer, including lung, colon, brain and stomach cancer.
The treatment works by three different mechanisms. It inhibits the EGFR receptor, a protein that promotes tumor growth, blocks the MET biological pathway, which cancer cells often use to escape treatments, while activating the immune system to attack the tumor.
One of the first patients to benefit was 56-year-old Carl Walsh, who was diagnosed with tongue cancer in May 2024 and joined the OrigAMI-4 study in July 2025.
“Initially I underwent chemotherapy and immunotherapy, but unfortunately without success,” he said. “I was then offered participation in the study. I am now on my 17th cycle of treatment and I am very pleased with my progress.”
Unlike many cancer treatments that are given intravenously, amivandamab is given by a small subcutaneous injection, which makes the procedure faster, more comfortable for patients, and easier for outpatients.
Most side effects were mild to moderate, and fewer than 10% of patients had to discontinue treatment.
Walsh said he is now back to a normal routine. Before treatment she had difficulty speaking and eating because of the pain and swelling. After starting the treatment, the swelling and pain decreased significantly, while the severe side effects of the chemotherapy subsided.
The researchers also pointed out that the study focused on patients with non-HPV-related head and neck cancers, a category that is typically more difficult to treat.
Patients who received amivandamab lived an average of 12.5 months after starting treatment, despite suffering from a particularly aggressive form of cancer with a poor prognosis when conventional treatments fail.
Professor Christian Hellin, chief executive of the Institute of Cancer Research, said:
“The study demonstrates that developing new treatments through rigorous scientific research can lead to meaningful advances even for patients with minimal treatment options.
Achieving this level of tumor response and encouraging survival results in such a difficult group of patients is an important step forward.”
