An international clinical trial has produced striking outcomes indicating that a triple-action cancer injection can remove tumors completely in certain patients. Conducted across 11 nations, the study provided the treatment to individuals whose cancer had returned or spread and had not responded to prior therapies. Called amivantamab, the injection reduced tumor size in more than one-third of cases, with notable improvements appearing rapidly. In 15 participants, scans showed tumors had disappeared entirely.
Kevin Harrington, a professor specializing in biological cancer therapies at the Institute of Cancer Research in London, described the findings as unprecedentedly strong for patients whose illness resisted both chemotherapy and immunotherapy. He noted that options remain scarce for this group, making the observed benefits particularly notable. Harrington, who also works as a consultant oncologist at the Royal Marsden NHS foundation trust, stated the approach could assist many thousands of patients yearly.
Results are scheduled for presentation at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago. Among 102 head and neck cancer patients in the trial, tumors shrank or vanished in 43 individuals, including 28 with major reductions and 15 with full eradication. Comparable effects appeared in lung cancer cases. Developed by Johnson & Johnson, amivantamab is now under study in roughly 60 trials focused mainly on lung cancer but also colorectal, brain, and gastric types.
The injection works by blocking EGFR and MET proteins that aid tumor growth and escape from treatment while activating immune attack on the cancer. It is delivered as a small under-the-skin dose every three weeks rather than through an intravenous line, simplifying outpatient use. Most side effects proved mild or moderate, with fewer than 10 percent of patients discontinuing.
One early participant reported restored ability to eat and speak normally after initial struggles with swelling and pain. The trial emphasized head and neck cancers unrelated to HPV, a subgroup often harder to treat. Median overall survival reached 12.5 months despite the poor prognosis typical after standard treatments fail. The chief executive of the Institute of Cancer Research highlighted the value of such research for advancing care in difficult cases.
