25 October 2026
New treatment combination shows promising results in recurrent head and neck cancer
Source: Institute of Cancer Research, London.
This is one of the most encouraging developments in the last two months.
An international clinical trial (OrigAMI-4) investigated a combination of:
Amivantamab – a targeted antibody.
Pembrolizumab – an immunotherapy.
Carboplatin – chemotherapy.
Among patients with HPV-unrelated recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma:
77% experienced tumour shrinkage.
14% achieved a complete response, meaning no detectable cancer remained.
64% achieved a partial response.
Nearly two-thirds of responses were continuing at the time of reporting.
This is particularly significant because HPV-unrelated cancers can be more difficult to treat.
The results are sufficiently encouraging for the treatment combination to progress into a global Phase III trial (OrigAMI-5).
Why this matters: Researchers are increasingly combining targeted therapies with immunotherapy to attack cancer through different biological pathways.
