A new “smart” injection treatment has shown remarkable success in shrinking head and neck cancer tumours within just six weeks, according to early trial results presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology conference in Berlin.
The drug, amivantamab, is a triple-action therapy that could transform treatment for patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC)—a form of the disease that often returns after chemotherapy and immunotherapy.
In the Orig-AMI 4 trial, funded by Janssen and involving 11 countries including the UK, 86 patients who had already undergone standard treatments were given amivantamab as an injection under the skin. Results showed 76% of patients saw their tumours shrink or stop growing, with responses typically appearing within six weeks. Most side effects were mild or moderate, and average progression-free survival reached 6.8 months.
Professor Kevin Harrington of the Institute of Cancer Research and the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust called the findings “incredibly encouraging.”
“This could represent a real shift in how we treat head and neck cancer,” he said. “Amivantamab not only blocks two major cancer pathways but also boosts the immune system’s ability to fight the disease. And because it’s delivered as a simple injection, it’s far quicker and more convenient than traditional infusions.”
Amivantamab works by simultaneously targeting EGFR and MET—two proteins that drive tumour growth and help cancer cells evade treatment—while also stimulating immune activity.
One patient, Carl Walsh, 59, from Birmingham, who joined the trial after standard treatments failed, said the drug had made a dramatic difference. “Before starting, I couldn’t talk properly and eating was difficult,” he said. “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.”
If further trials confirm these results, amivantamab could become a new, more accessible option for patients with hard-to-treat head and neck cancers.
