A groundbreaking cancer treatment hailed as one of the most promising advances in oncology is set to be tested in Portugal after delivering what experts described as “unprecedented” results in international clinical trials.
The injectable drug, called amivantamab, will be offered to patients at five Portuguese hospitals as part of a major phase III clinical trial involving around 500 patients through to 2029.
Recruitment for the Portuguese trial is already under way at Gaia-Espinho, IPO Porto, Santa Maria and CUF Descobertas in Lisbon and Portimão hospitals.
The study will focus on patients with otherwise incurable head and neck cancers who have not yet received treatment. Participants will receive the new injection alongside immunotherapy in an effort to maximise the chances of success, reports Expresso newspaper.
Oncologist Diogo Alpuim Costa, the lead investigator for the Portuguese arm of the trial, told Expresso that the first patient is expected to begin treatment this month at CUF Descobertas.
The treatment has been stunning the medical world after researchers revealed that it successfully shrank or completely eliminated tumours in patients with advanced head and neck cancers that had become resistant to conventional treatments.
Results presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago showed that 43 out of 102 patients responded to the treatment. Among them, 28 experienced significant tumour shrinkage, while 15 saw their cancer disappear completely within weeks.
Experts have described the findings as extraordinary.
“These are exceptionally strong responses in patients whose disease has become resistant to both chemotherapy and immunotherapy,” said Professor Kevin Harrington of London’s Institute of Cancer Research. “These are groups of patients whose treatment options are extremely limited, so seeing this level of benefit is very impressive,” the professor told The Guardian newspaper.
“This treatment has the potential to benefit thousands of patients every year,” he added.
In Portugal, the drug is being studied to treat certain kinds of lung cancer, also with some success, and research could be expanded to test its success rate with other types of cancer, such as colon, brain and stomach cancer. Around 60 clinical trials are currently underway worldwide.
The drug works by attacking cancer on multiple fronts. It blocks two key pathways used by tumours to grow and resist treatment while also helping the body’s immune system identify and destroy cancer cells.
Unlike many cancer therapies, amivantamab is administered by injection under the skin rather than through lengthy intravenous infusions, making treatment faster and more convenient for patients. Doses are given once every three weeks.
Between 2,500 and 3,000 people are diagnosed with head and neck cancers in Portugal each year. If the phase III trial confirms the promising early results, doctors believe the treatment could become widely available within the next few years, offering fresh hope to patients with some of the most difficult-to-treat cancers.