All too often, traditional mesothelioma treatments fail to provide the hoped-for benefit, leaving patients with limited options. But according to results presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s annual meeting in Chicago, a new triple-action cancer injection under development may offer new hope. The drug, called amivantamab, has produced what researchers described as “unprecedentedly strong responses” in patients whose cancers had become resistant to both chemotherapy and immunotherapy.
Mesothelioma Patients May Benefit from Triple-Action Drug that Targets Multiple Cancer Pathways
Mesothelioma has proven to be extremely resistant to therapies that work against other cancers, in large part because it uses multiple escape mechanisms to resist treatment. This type of resistance is exactly what has made amivantamab so exciting: the drug targets both tumor growth and immune evasion by working in three ways simultaneously. It blocks EGFR, a protein that helps tumors, including mesothelioma, grow; it blocks MET, a pathway that cancer cells use to escape treatment; and it activates the immune system to attack tumors directly.
In an international trial spanning 11 countries, 102 patients with head and neck cancer whose disease had spread or returned after failing other treatments received a subcutaneous injection of amivantamab. The tumors shrank or disappeared completely in 43 patients, with 28 experiencing significant shrinkage and 15 seeing their tumors completely eradicated. Of particular interest for mesothelioma patients, the researchers noted that the drug has also shown similar results in patients with lung cancer. It is now being evaluated in approximately 60 clinical trials for lung, colorectal, brain, and gastric cancers.
Unprecedentedly Strong Responses in Treatment-resistant Tumors
“These are unprecedentedly strong responses in patients whose disease has become resistant to both chemotherapy and immunotherapy,” said Professor Kevin Harrington of the Institute of Cancer Research, London. “This is a group of patients for whom treatment options are extremely limited.” Unlike many cancer treatments requiring lengthy intravenous infusions, amivantamab is administered as a small subcutaneous injection given once every three weeks. This would offer a significant practical advantage for mesothelioma patients whose weakened condition and respiratory limitations make prolonged clinic visits physically exhausting. Most side effects were mild to moderate, with fewer than one in ten patients forced to discontinue treatment.
As is true for mesothelioma patients, the patients in the study had specific cancers known for having very poor outcomes once standard treatments stop working. When they received amivantamab, they lived for a median of 12.5 months after starting treatment. “This treatment has the potential to benefit many thousands of patients each year,” said Professor Harrington. While prospective mesothelioma-specific trials are needed to confirm benefit, the drug’s already-demonstrated ability to eradicate tumors in patients who’d been failed by both chemotherapy and immunotherapy offers genuine hope for mesothelioma patients facing the same devastating treatment dead-end.
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net are here to help. Contact us today at 1-800-692-8608 to learn more.
