A man who was left struggling to speak and eat properly due to tongue cancer has renewed hope after starting a trial for a new “smart” jab.
Carl Walsh, 59, from Birmingham, was diagnosed with tongue cancer in May 2024 after his swollen mouth left him in agony.
But when his initial treatment was unsuccessful, he joined a trial at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust in July this year for a new type of cancer jab.
The triple-action therapy drug amivantamab, which is given via an injection under the skin, has been shown to shrink head and neck cancers in more than three in four patients. It is being dubbed “smart” as it also helps activate the immune system.
“Before starting the trial, I couldn’t talk properly and eating was difficult, but the swelling has gone down a lot, and I’m not in the same amount of pain I used to be in,” Mr Walsh said. “Sometimes I even forget that I have cancer.”
Head and neck cancer is the sixth most common cancer worldwide, with around 12,800 new cases each year in the UK alone.
It is usually treated with surgery and radiotherapy. However, once the disease spreads or returns, it is generally treated with immunotherapy and platinum-based chemotherapy.
Mr Walsh added: “Chemotherapy was my first treatment option, but unfortunately, it wasn’t successful. Then I tried immunotherapy, but that also didn’t work as well as hoped. After that, they recommended I join the Orig-AMI 4 trial.
“I’m now on my seventh cycle of treatment, it’s working well so far and I’m very happy with the progress.
“The only side effect I’ve experienced so far is minor skin issues, which is a big relief compared to the many side effects I had with chemotherapy.”
Details of the trial were presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology conference in Berlin.
The Orig-AMI 4 trial took place across 55 sites in 11 countries around the world in patients with human papillomavirus (HPV)-unrelated, recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. The study included 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, has already been approved for a type of lung cancer.
It works in three steps, first by blocking EGFR (Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor), a protein that helps tumours grow. It also blocks MET, a separate pathway that cancer cells often use, which escapes treatment. Finally, it helps activate the immune system to attack the tumour.
One group of patients in the study, who had already received both immunotherapy and chemotherapy, were given amivantamab on its own.
The results show that in 76 per cent of this group, their cancer either shrank or stopped growing.
Responses were seen within six weeks on average, and the treatment was generally well tolerated, with most side effects being mild to moderate, according to researchers.
The average progression-free survival for patients receiving amivantamab on its own was 6.8 months.
As of July, 53 of the 86 patients in this cohort (62 per cent) 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 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 suggested the human papillomavirus (HPV) may be responsible for up to 70 per cent of head and neck cancers. The common virus is usually harmless, but in some cases, it can trigger cancerous changes in healthy tissue. Other risk factors for head and neck cancer also include smoking and drinking alcohol.
Since the early 1990s, head and neck cancer incidence rates have increased by more than a third (36 per cent) in the UK, according to Cancer Research UK. But researchers hope this innovative treatment could become a new option for patients with few remaining choices.
Professor Clare Isacke, 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 a significant step forward.”
