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A man who struggled to speak and eat properly because of his tongue cancer After starting there is hope again Trial for a new “smart” jab,
Carl Walsh, 59, of Birmingham was Diagnosed with tongue cancer In May 2024, he suffered a lot after his mouth became swollen.
But when his initial treatment failedHe joined a trial at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust for a new type of cancer jab in July this year.
The triple-action therapy drug amivantamab, which is given through an injection under the skin, has been shown to reduce head and neck cancer in more than three out of four patients. It is being dubbed “smart” because it also helps activate the immune system.
“Before starting the trial, I couldn’t talk properly and found it difficult to eat, but the swelling has gone down significantly and I’m not in as much pain as I used to be,” Mr Walsh said. “Sometimes I even forget I have cancer.”
Head and neck cancer is the sixth most common cancer worldwide, with approximately 12,800 new cases each year in the UK alone.
It is usually treated with surgery and radiotherapy. However, once the disease has spread or returned, it is usually treated with immunotherapy and platinum-based chemotherapy.
Mr Walsh said: “Chemotherapy was my first treatment option, but unfortunately, it was not successful. Then I tried immunotherapy, but that didn’t work as well as hoped. After that, they recommended I join the ORIG-AMI4 trial.
“I am now on the seventh cycle of treatment, it is working well so far and I am very happy with the progress.
“The only side effects I’ve experienced so far are minor skin issues, which is a huge relief compared to many of the side effects from chemotherapy.”
Details of the trial were presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology conference in Berlin.
The ORIG-AMI4 trial took place at 55 sites in 11 countries around the world, including by a team led by Professor Kevin Harrington at the Institute of Cancer Research and the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust.
Amivantamab, which is being developed by Johnson & Johnson, is already approved for one type of lung cancer.
It works in three steps, first by blocking EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor), a protein that helps tumors grow. It also blocks MET, a different pathway that cancer cells often use, allowing them to escape treatment. Finally, it helps activate the immune system to attack the tumor.
A group of patients in the study who had already received both immunotherapy and chemotherapy were given amivantamab on its own.
The results showed that in 76 percent of the people in this group, their cancer either shrank or stopped growing.
According to the researchers, responses were seen within an average of six weeks and the treatment was generally well tolerated, with most side effects being mild to moderate.
The median progression-free survival for patients receiving amivantamab alone was 6.8 months.
As of July, 53 of the 86 patients in this group (62 percent) were still receiving the new treatment.
“Amivantamab is a ‘smart’ drug that not only blocks two key cancer pathways but also helps the immune system do its job,” said Professor Kevin Harrington at the Institute of Cancer Research.
“Unlike many cancer treatments that require hours of sitting in a hospital chair, amivantamab is given as an injection under the skin. This makes it faster, more convenient, and potentially easier to deliver in outpatient clinics.”
Research has shown that human papillomavirus (HPV) may be responsible for up to 70 percent of head and neck cancers. The common virus is usually harmless, but in some cases, it can cause cancerous changes in healthy tissues.
Other risk factors for head and neck cancer include smoking and drinking alcohol.
According to Cancer Research UK, since the early 1990s, the incidence rate of head and neck cancer in the UK has increased by more than a third (36 percent). But researchers hope this innovative treatment could become a new option for patients who have few options left.
Professor Claire Isaacy, Dean of Academic and Research Affairs at the Institute of Cancer Research, said: “This is a disease that often returns aggressively and leaves patients with very few options. The promise shown by amivantamab – particularly its ability to deliver meaningful clinical benefit through a simple injection – represents an important step forward.”