A step closer to curing cancer? International study results amaze doctors

2026-05-31 18:28:00, Shëndeti CNA

The results of an international study, which shows that a new anti-cancer injection can completely eliminate tumors in some patients, have amazed doctors and raised hopes for a treatment for the serious disease.

The study, conducted in 11 countries around the world, included patients with head and neck cancer whose disease had returned or spread and was no longer responding to standard treatments such as chemotherapy and immunotherapy.

The experimental injection, called Amivantamab, was able to shrink tumors in more than a third of patients, with noticeable changes seen just a few weeks after starting treatment. In 15 patients, doctors found that the tumors had completely disappeared.

Professor Kevin Harrington from the Institute of Cancer Research in London described the result as extremely important.

"These are incredibly strong responses in patients whose disease had become resistant to chemotherapy and immunotherapy. For this group of patients, treatment options are very limited, so this benefit is really impressive ," he said.

The results of the study were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the world's largest cancer conference. The clinical trial involved 102 patients with head and neck cancer. Tumors shrank or disappeared completely in 43 of them. Of these, 28 patients had significant tumor shrinkage, while 15 patients had their tumors completely eliminated.

Amivantamab has also shown promising results in lung cancer patients, according to researchers. The drug, developed by Johnson & Johnson, is currently being evaluated in about 60 clinical trials for various types of cancer, including lung, colon, brain and stomach cancer.

This treatment works in three ways at once: it blocks the EGFR protein that helps tumors grow, it inhibits the MET mechanism that cancer cells use to escape treatment, and it activates the immune system to attack tumor cells. Another important advantage is that Amivantamab is given by a small injection under the skin rather than through an intravenous infusion, making treatment faster and easier for patients.

Side effects were mostly mild or moderate, while less than 10% of patients were forced to discontinue treatment. Experts emphasize that the results represent an important step forward in the treatment of a group of patients who usually have very few therapeutic alternatives and a difficult prognosis. /CNA