The results of an international clinical trial bring fresh hope to oncology. A triple-action injectable drug shrank tumours in more than one in three patients. In some, it cleared them completely. Doctors described the findings as unprecedented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The drug is called amivantamab. Johnson & Johnson developed it and tested it in patients whose cancer had spread or returned and no longer responded to the available treatments. The response came even where chemotherapy and immunotherapy had failed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The press often presents it as a vaccine. In reality it is an injectable monoclonal antibody, a targeted therapy rather than a vaccine in the classic sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The study included 102 patients with head (e.g., mouth, tongue, pharynx, larynx) and neck cancer, the sixth most common cancer worldwide. The trial ran across 11 countries. Tumours shrank or disappeared completely in 43 patients. Twenty-eight showed significant shrinkage. In 15 patients the tumours were cleared entirely. Researchers recorded a similar picture in patients with lung cancer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Amivantamab is currently under evaluation in around 60 clinical trials. Most concern lung cancer. Trials also cover colon, brain and stomach cancer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Its action rests on three mechanisms. First, it blocks the EGFR receptor, a protein that helps tumours grow. Second, it inhibits the MET pathway, which cancer cells use to escape treatment. Third, it activates the immune system to attack the tumour. This combination explains why it worked in patients who had exhausted their other options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When it comes to its application in dermatology, two points stand out. The first concerns how the drug is given. Unlike many cancer treatments, amivantamab is delivered through a small subcutaneous injection, under the skin, rather than intravenously. The method makes treatment faster and more practical, and it allows administration in outpatient clinics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second concerns the drug’s target. EGFR is the epidermal growth factor receptor. The same protein plays a role in the skin, where it regulates the renewal of epidermal cells. For that reason, targeted therapies against EGFR often link to skin reactions such as acneiform rash and dryness. In this trial most side effects were mild to moderate. The dermatologist has a decisive role here. They recognise and manage skin reactions early and help the patient stay on treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The treatment is given once every three weeks. Most side effects were mild to moderate. Fewer than one in ten patients had to stop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Carl Walsh, 56, was among the first patients to benefit. He was diagnosed with tongue cancer in May 2024 and joined the OrigAMI-4 trial at the Royal Marsden hospital in July 2025. Chemotherapy and immunotherapy had not worked. By the seventeenth cycle of the new treatment he describes a marked improvement. The oedema and pain eased, his speech returned and his diet normalised within a few months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kevin Harrington, professor of biological cancer therapies at the Institute of Cancer Research in London and consultant oncologist at the Royal Marsden, spoke of unprecedented strong responses in patients with resistant disease. He estimated that the treatment could benefit many thousands of patients each year. Kristian Helin, chief executive of the ICR, stressed that rigorous research leads to real progress even for patients with very few options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The results were presented in Chicago, at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the largest cancer conference in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Dr. Amalia Tsiaoura, Scientific Director of Cosmetic Derma Medicine, says, \u201cThese findings, although preliminary, indicate that new treatments are on the horizon that are more precise and better tolerated by patients. Prevention and early diagnosis remain the most reliable allies in every form of oncology. Especially for the skin, which is often affected by both the diseases themselves and their advanced treatments, regular dermatological checkups detect suspicious lesions at a stage when treatment is simpler.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At Cosmetic Derma Medicine you can book an examination and discuss with the dermatologist what suits your case.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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