A new “smart” cancer injection has shown remarkable success in shrinking head and neck tumours within just six weeks, offering hope for patients with advanced or recurrent disease.
The drug, amivantamab, works through a triple-action mechanism and is administered as a simple subcutaneous injection rather than lengthy intravenous infusions. Results from the Orig-AMI 4 trial, presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology conference in Berlin, have been described by experts as “incredibly encouraging.”
The international study involved 86 patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) who had already undergone chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Of these, 76% saw their tumours shrink or stop growing, with most showing a response within six weeks. The treatment was generally well tolerated, with mostly mild to moderate side effects, and an average progression-free survival of 6.8 months.
Prof Kevin Harrington, a cancer therapy specialist at the Institute of Cancer Research and the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, said:
“To see this level of benefit for patients who have endured numerous treatments is incredibly encouraging. This could represent a real shift in how we treat head and neck cancer — not just in terms of effectiveness, but also how we deliver care.”
Amivantamab targets two key tumour growth pathways — EGFR and MET — while also boosting the immune system’s ability to attack cancer cells.
The injection’s ease of administration could make treatment faster, more convenient, and even possible in outpatient or home settings in the future.
One UK trial participant, Carl Walsh, 59, from Birmingham, said the treatment has already changed his life:
“Before the trial, I couldn’t talk properly and eating was difficult. Now the swelling has gone down a lot, and I’m not in the same amount of pain. Sometimes I even forget that I have cancer.”
Researchers say further trials are planned to confirm these early results, which could pave the way for a major breakthrough in treating one of the world’s most common and challenging cancers.
