‘Tongue cancer made it hard to speak and eat – but new smart jab treatment changed my life’
A man struggling to speak and eat properly due to tongue cancer has renewed hope after starting a trial of a new “smart” vaccine.
Carl Walsh, 59, from Birmingham, was diagnosed with tongue cancer in May 2024 after it caused his swollen mouth to suffer.
But after his first treatment failed, he took part in a trial for a new type of cancer vaccine at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust in July this year.
The triple-acting treatment drug amivantamab, given by subcutaneous injection, has been shown to shrink head and neck cancers in more than three in four patients. It is called “smart” because it also helps activate the immune system.
“Before I started the trial I couldn’t talk properly and it was difficult to eat, but the swelling has greatly reduced and I’m not in as much pain anymore,” Mr Walsh said. “Sometimes I even forget that I have cancer.”
Head and neck cancer is the sixth most common cancer worldwide, with around 12,800 new cases each year in the UK alone.
It is usually treated with surgery and radiotherapy. But when the disease spreads or returns, it is usually treated with immunotherapy and platinum-based chemotherapy.
Mr Walsh added: “Chemotherapy was my first treatment option but unfortunately it wasn’t successful. I then tried immunotherapy but that didn’t work as well as I hoped. They then suggested I take part in the Orig-AMI 4 trial.
“I am currently on my seventh treatment cycle, going well so far and very pleased with the progress.
“The only side effects I’ve had so far have been minor skin issues; this is a huge relief compared to the many side effects I’ve experienced with chemotherapy.”
Details of the trial were presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology conference in Berlin.
The Orig-AMI 4 trial was carried out at 55 sites in 11 countries around the world, including a team led by Professor Kevin Harrington from the Institute of Cancer Research and the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust.
Amivantamab, developed by Johnson & Johnson, is already approved for a type of lung cancer.
It works in three steps, first by blocking EGFR (Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor), a protein that helps tumors grow. It also blocks MET, a separate pathway that cancer cells often use and evades treatment. Finally, it helps activate the immune system to attack the tumor.
In the study, amivantamab alone was given to a group of patients who had already received both immunotherapy and chemotherapy.
The results show that in 76 percent of this group, the cancer either shrank or stopped growing.
Responses were seen in an average of six weeks, and the treatment was generally well tolerated, with most side effects being mild to moderate, according to the researchers.
The median progression-free survival time for patients receiving amivantamab alone was 6.8 months.
As of July, 53 of 86 patients (62 percent) in this group were still receiving the new treatment.
“Amivantamab is a ‘smart’ drug that not only blocks two key cancer pathways but also helps the immune system do its job,” said Professor Kevin Harrington from the Institute of Cancer Research.
“Unlike many cancer treatments that take hours in a hospital chair, amivantamab is given by subcutaneous injection. This makes it quicker, more convenient and potentially easier to administer in outpatient clinics.”
Research has suggested that human papillomavirus (HPV) may be responsible for 70 percent of head and neck cancers. The common virus is usually harmless, but in some cases it can trigger cancerous changes in healthy tissue.
Other risk factors for head and neck cancer include smoking and alcohol consumption.
According to Cancer Research UK, head and neck cancer incidence rates in the UK have increased by more than a third (36 per cent) since the early 1990s. But researchers hope this innovative treatment could be a new option for patients left with few options.
Professor Clare Isacke, dean of academic and research affairs at the Institute of Cancer Research, said: “This is a disease that often returns aggressively, leaving patients with few options. The promise shown by amivantamab, particularly its ability to deliver meaningful clinical benefit through a simple injection, represents a significant step forward.”
