The study, which is set to be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting, involved 102 patients with head and neck cancer.
All participants had either recurrent or metastatic disease, and neither chemotherapy nor immunotherapy was working for them anymore.
The patients received a new treatment called amivantamab. It is administered as a subcutaneous injection, making it simpler than many other cancer treatments, which often require intravenous infusions in a hospital.
Multiple ways of attacking cancer
According to the researchers, the treatment works in three different ways. It blocks signals that help cancer cells grow, inhibits mechanisms that can make cancer resistant to treatment, and helps the body's own immune system fight the disease.
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The treatment is currently being investigated in around 60 clinical trials. The primary focus is on lung cancer, but other types of cancer are also being studied, according to The Guardian.
Results draw attention
The trial focused on a type of head and neck cancer that is typically difficult to treat. As a result, the findings have attracted significant attention among researchers.
In 43 of the 102 patients, tumors shrank or disappeared. Of these, 28 patients experienced substantial tumor reduction.
In 15 patients, doctors could no longer detect any signs of tumors following treatment.
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According to The Guardian, researchers have described the results as unusually strong for a group of patients with very limited treatment options.
Sources: The Guardian and the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
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