Head and neck cancers have very few treatment options other than chemotherapy. Now though doctors and Oncologists hope to change that sad fact. This hope is due to a large clinical study that has seen great success in the initial trial studying a drug to target this form of cancer called amivantamab. An injection therapy that targets three distinct places was aimed at metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), a hard-to-treat form of head and neck cancer, considered the 6th-most common form of the disease.
The first line of treatment for individuals who are diagnosed with HNSCC is immunotherapy, which can sometimes see success. Oftentimes though the cancer will return and then oncologists will generally resort to chemotherapy. Amivantamab has been described as an “incredibly encouraging” new option that was shown in a trial conducted across 11 different countries which was to shrink tumors as soon as 6 weeks from the start of treatment, while slowing and sometimes halting the disease’s progression. The study was presented at the European Society for medical oncology conference in Berlin.
Anything that can better treat cancers than what we have now is a great accomplishment. So if this study ends up going well it’ll be very good for the development of our medical science. I think that the safety of new treatments should be our highest priority at all times. The worse case scenario would be for something that isn’t safe to be used on patience. As of now though the treatment has been reported to be working safely which is great. I don’t have any close family members that have had these types of cancer, but it is great to think that maybe someday we won’t have to worry about cancers at all if our medical knowledge keeps increasing the way it is now. Perhaps the most impressive thing is that the treatment seems to be highly effective in many patients. I hope that this new treatment will end becoming widespread and available to anybody who needs it.
