Triple-drug regimen dramatically shrinks tumours in hard-to-treat head and neck cancers

Researchers from the Institute of Cancer Research in London and the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust have reported promising results from a phase-II trial of a triple-therapy protocol for aggressive head and neck cancers that are not linked to high-risk HPV. The regimen combines the bispecific antibody amivantamab, the immune checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab, and standard chemotherapy, and was evaluated in 29 patients.

In the subgroup of 22 patients with HPV-unrelated tumours, 77% saw their cancers shrink, compared with a 36% response rate for the existing pembrolizumab-plus-chemotherapy standard. Three participants had no detectable disease, four achieved disease stability, and one progressed. Holly Stubbs, a 29-year-old mother from County Durham, described a 60% tumour reduction and disappearance of severe pain after starting the treatment. The findings will be presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress 2026 in Madrid, and a worldwide Phase III trial is slated to confirm the benefits.