An international trial found that amivantamab shrank or eliminated tumors in patients with advanced head and neck cancer after chemotherapy and immunotherapy had failed.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
An experimental cancer treatment produced tumor shrinkage or complete tumor disappearance in a group of patients with advanced head and neck cancer whose disease had returned or spread after standard therapies stopped working, according to findings from an international clinical trial.
The results, reported Saturday by the Guardian, came from the OrigAMI-4 trial, which tested amivantamab in patients with difficult-to-treat head and neck cancers. The study found that 43 of 102 patients responded to the treatment after their cancers had progressed despite chemotherapy and immunotherapy.
Fifteen of those patients had complete responses, meaning their tumors disappeared during the trial.
Kevin Harrington of the Institute of Cancer Research and the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust described the findings as “unprecedentedly strong responses” among patients who had few remaining options.
“This is a group of patients for whom treatment options are extremely limited, so seeing this level of benefit is very striking,” Harrington said.
The trial results are set to be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Chicago.
Amivantamab is designed to attack cancer through multiple mechanisms. Researchers said the drug blocks EGFR, a protein involved in tumor growth, while also targeting the MET pathway, which cancer cells can use to resist or escape treatment. The drug also helps stimulate the immune system to attack tumors.
Unlike some cancer treatments that are delivered intravenously, amivantamab is administered through a small injection under the skin. Researchers said that approach can make treatment quicker and simpler to provide.
Most side effects reported in the trial were mild to moderate. Fewer than 10% of patients stopped treatment because of side effects.
One participant, 56-year-old Carl Walsh of Birmingham, joined the study after chemotherapy and immunotherapy failed to control his tongue cancer.
“I was initially treated with both chemotherapy and immunotherapy, which unfortunately were not successful,” Walsh said.
“At that point, I was recommended for the OrigAMI-4 trial,” he said.
Walsh said the treatment reduced swelling and pain and allowed him to resume parts of daily life that had been disrupted by the disease.
“I now feel able to live a normal life,” he said.
“Since beginning treatment, the swelling has reduced significantly, and my pain levels have improved considerably,” he said.
After two cycles of treatment, Walsh said he was able to eat normally again. He later described being able to enjoy “the first big steak” after relying on soft foods for months.
The trial focused on HPV-negative head and neck cancers, which researchers noted are generally more difficult to treat and are associated with worse outcomes than HPV-related cancers.
Patients in the study lived a median of 12.5 months after beginning amivantamab, despite having advanced disease that had already worsened after standard treatments.
The findings remain preliminary, and researchers said larger studies will be needed to confirm the treatment’s benefits.
Amivantamab was developed by Johnson & Johnson and is being studied in about 60 clinical trials, including trials involving lung, colorectal, brain and stomach cancers.
Kristian Helin, chief executive of the Institute of Cancer Research, said the findings mark “a significant step forward” for patients facing limited treatment options.