Trial shows new treatment could shrink tumours for those with complex and aggressive cancers

An international clinical trial demonstrated that a novel triple-therapy regimen significantly reduced tumor size in patients suffering from advanced head and neck cancers unrelated to high-risk human papillomavirus. The study, partially conducted by the Institute of Cancer Research in London and the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, targeted metastatic or recurrent cases. In the latest phase, twenty-nine patients received amivantamab combined with pembrolizumab and chemotherapy. Among the twenty-two participants whose tumors lacked HPV links, seventy-seven percent experienced tumor shrinkage. This result exceeds the thirty-six percent response rate associated with the current standard first-line treatment of pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy. Three patients achieved undetectable cancer levels, while disease remained stable in four individuals. One patient saw cancer progression. At the time of data analysis, eleven of the seventeen responders maintained tumor shrinkage or stability. Previous phases of the trial indicated that amivantamab alone shrank tumors in forty-two percent of patients, whereas adding pembrolizumab increased that figure to fifty-six percent. Amivantamab functions as a synthetic antibody designed to target two specific proteins, thereby halting tumor growth and activating the immune system. Experts noted that HPV-related and unrelated tumors behave distinctly, yet head and neck cancer has historically been treated as a single entity. In the United Kingdom, HPV accounts for approximately twelve percent of tongue, tonsil, and oral cavity cancers, but causes fifty to seventy percent of oropharyngeal cancers located in the throat or base of the tongue. Professor Kristian Helin, chief executive of the Institute of Cancer Research, stated that these results suggest improved outcomes through biology-based treatment strategies. He explained that the approach attacks the EGFR and MET signals relied upon by HPV-unrelated tumors while assisting the immune system. Professor Kevin Harrington, a professor of biological cancer therapies at the institute and consultant clinical oncologist at the Royal Marsden, supported the rationale behind the combination. Holly Stubbs, a twenty-nine-year-old mother of three from County Durham, participated in the trial. She was diagnosed with stage one tongue cancer in April 2025 during her pregnancy with her third child. Following two surgeries and radiotherapy, the disease returned a year later, and doctors declared it incurable. After contacting researchers, Stubbs began the triple-combination therapy in July. She reported that scans showed a sixty percent reduction in her cancer, and severe pain vanished within weeks. Stubbs described feeling desperate when told no further options existed locally, noting that the trial restored her hope. The research team plans to present these findings at the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress in Madrid in 2026. Subsequently, investigators intend to advance the study to Phase III. Professor Helin acknowledged that current sample sizes remain small and emphasized that the upcoming Phase III trial will serve as the definitive test for this rational, biology-driven drug combination.