Amivantamab Shows Tumor Responses in 43 of 102 Patients with Advanced Head and Neck Cancer

An international clinical trial found that amivantamab shrank or eliminated tumors in 43 of 102 patients with advanced head and neck cancer. The drug, developed by Johnson & Johnson, was given as a subcutaneous injection once every three weeks. Fifteen patients experienced complete tumor eradication.

Twenty-eight others had significant shrinkage. Dramatic changes appeared within weeks of the first dose. The trial enrolled patients across 11 countries whose cancer had returned or spread after failing chemotherapy and immunotherapy.

Head and neck cancer is the world’s sixth most common cancer. Kevin Harrington, professor in biological cancer therapies at the Institute of Cancer Research in London and consultant oncologist at the Royal Marsden NHS foundation trust, said the responses were unprecedented.

“These are unprecedentedly strong responses in patients whose disease has become resistant to both chemotherapy and immunotherapy,” he stated.

Harrington added that the results were striking for a group with extremely limited options and that the treatment could benefit many thousands of patients each year. Carl Walsh, 56, from Birmingham, joined the OrigAMI-4 trial at the Royal Marsden in July 2025 after his May 2024 tongue-cancer diagnosis. Chemotherapy and immunotherapy had failed.

He is now on his 17th cycle. Walsh said the swelling and pain that had made speaking and eating difficult have eased. “My speech is completely back to normal and at work I speak regularly on headsets without problems,” he stated.

He also described returning to a full diet after six months on the drug. Amivantamab blocks EGFR and MET signaling pathways and activates the immune system against the tumor. Most side-effects were mild to moderate; fewer than one in 10 patients stopped treatment.