An experimental anti-cancer vaccine, amivantamab, has demonstrated the complete eradication of tumors in some patients, with significant changes observed within weeks. This development is reported by The Guardian, citing medical experts.
Amivantamab targets cancer through three distinct mechanisms: it blocks the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), which fuels tumor growth, as well as the proto-oncogene MET. This is the first treatment approved for adult patients with non-small cell lung cancer whose tumors possess specific genetic mutations.
The vaccine received approval for use in the United States in May 2021 and in the European Union in December 2021. The study involved 11 countries, with patients whose cancer had become resistant to other treatments receiving the injection. The vaccine was administered to 102 patients with head and neck cancer, resulting in tumor reduction or complete disappearance in 43 of them: 28 experienced significant reduction, and 15 achieved complete tumor eradication. Similar results were also observed in patients with lung cancer.
“This is an unprecedentedly strong response in patients whose disease has become resistant to both chemotherapy and immunotherapy. This is a group of patients for whom treatment options are extremely limited, so seeing such pronounced benefit is highly notable,” stated Professor of Cancer Biological Therapy at the Institute of Cancer Research in London, Kevin Harrington, to the publication.
Researchers noted that the experiment excluded patients with squamous cell carcinoma caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). This is significant because cancers not associated with HPV are typically more challenging to treat.
Patients who received the vaccine lived an average of 12 and a half months after starting treatment, despite having a form of cancer with an extremely poor prognosis where standard treatments were no longer effective. According to Harrington, achieving this level of remission and survival in such a challenging patient group represents a “significant step forward,” the material states.
