Chicago, United States. Doctors have described results from a clinical trial of a new triple-action cancer injection as unprecedented after it reportedly led to the complete disappearance of tumours in patients with advanced cancer. The international study involved patients whose cancer had spread or returned and no longer responded to existing treatments.
Study results
The drug, amivantamab, caused tumours to shrink in more than a third of participants, with results recorded within the first few weeks. In 15 patients, the tumours disappeared completely.
Professor of Biological Cancer Therapies at the Institute of Cancer Research in London, Kevin Harrington, said the responses were unprecedentedly strong in patients whose disease had become resistant to both chemotherapy and immunotherapy. He said the level of benefit was impressive in a group with extremely limited treatment options.
Harrington, who is also a consultant oncologist at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, said the treatment has the potential to benefit many thousands of patients every year. The results were presented in Chicago at the annual conference of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the largest international event in the field of cancer.
Trial details
The study involved 102 patients with head and neck cancer, the sixth most common cancer globally. Tumours shrank or disappeared in 43 patients. Of those, 28 had a significant reduction in tumour size, while 15 achieved complete disappearance of the disease.
Researchers said similar results have already been observed in lung cancer patients. Amivantamab, developed by Johnson & Johnson, is being evaluated in around 60 clinical trials for various types of cancer, including lung, colorectal, brain and stomach cancers.
How the treatment works
The treatment works through three mechanisms. It blocks the EGFR receptor, a protein that promotes tumour growth, interrupts the MET biological pathway that cancer cells often use to escape treatments, and activates the immune system to attack the tumour.
Patient experience
One of the first patients to benefit was 56-year-old Karl Walsh, who was diagnosed with tongue cancer in May 2024 and joined the OrigAMI-4 study in July 2025.
Initially, he underwent chemotherapy and immunotherapy without success. He said he was then offered participation in the study and is now in his 17th cycle of treatment, adding that he is very satisfied with his progress.