Amivantamab cancer drug trial starts at five Portuguese hospitals

Johnson & Johnson’s experimental drug amivantamab, originally approved for non‑small‑cell lung cancer, is being tested for head and neck cancers that have become resistant to chemotherapy and immunotherapy. At the ASCO conference in Chicago, investigators reported that among 102 patients treated, tumors shrank in 43 cases and completely disappeared in 15.

The drug works by simultaneously blocking the EGFR and MET pathways and activates the patient’s own immune response. It is administered by sub‑cutaneous injection, making it quicker and more convenient than intravenous infusions, with side‑effects generally mild and only about 10% of patients needing to stop treatment.

Portugal will join the Phase III OrigAMI‑5 trial, which aims to recruit 500 patients across several countries. Five Portuguese hospitals – Santa Maria, CUF Descobertas, Portimão, IPO Porto and ULS Gaia‑Espinho – will begin enrolling patients in June. The trial addresses roughly 2,500‑3,000 new head and neck cancer cases diagnosed annually in Portugal, many of which are advanced at presentation.