Thousands of head and neck cancer patients have been saved by a "world-changing" drug that significantly slows the spread of the disease.
The injection, called pembrolizumab, helps the immune system detect hidden cancer cells in the body.
Currently, it is offered to NHS patients with advanced lung, breast and cervical cancer – but experts believe it has much wider potential.
Also known by the trade name Keytruda, a groundbreaking trial found that this drug kept head and neck cancer under control for five years, compared to 30 months with standard treatments, including surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
It also significantly reduced the risk of the disease returning elsewhere in the body.
Researchers presenting the findings at the American Society of Clinical Oncology conference in Chicago said the injection "could be world-changing for these patients", offering them "years more life than current standard treatments".
Head and neck cancer is an umbrella term for cancers of the mouth, throat, voice box, nose, sinuses, and salivary glands.
Until recently, experts believed that the main causes were lifestyle-related – particularly smoking and excessive alcohol consumption.
In recent years, research has suggested that human papillomavirus (HPV) may be responsible for up to 70 percent of head and neck cancer cases.
HPV is a common virus that spreads through close contact, including sex, and is usually harmless. However, in some cases – for reasons that are not fully understood – it can cause cancerous changes in healthy tissue.
The virus is already known to cause cancer of the cervix, anus, and penis.
An increase in head and neck cancer cases, especially in young and middle-aged people, has been linked to oral sex.
In the global trial, conducted in 24 countries and involving more than 700 patients with head and neck cancer, 363 patients received pembrolizumab followed by standard treatment.
The rest received only standard treatment.
Pembrolizumab is a checkpoint inhibitor – it works by helping the immune system recognize and fight cancer.
Scientists found that the cancer returned after five years in half of the patients who received pembrolizumab, compared with two and a half years in those who received standard care.
After three years, the risk of cancer returning elsewhere in the body was also 10 percent lower in those who received pembrolizumab.
Kevin Harrington, professor of biological cancer therapies at The Institute of Cancer Research in London and oncologist at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, said: “For patients newly diagnosed with locally advanced head and neck cancer, treatments have not changed for more than two decades.
"Immunotherapy has been extremely beneficial for patients with cancer that has come back or spread throughout the body, but, until now, it has not been as successful for those who present for the first time with disease that has spread to nearby areas."
"Research shows that immunotherapy can be world-changing for these patients – it significantly reduces the chance of the cancer spreading throughout the body, where treatment becomes extremely difficult."
Professor Harrington added that the drug “significantly increases the duration of disease remission – for years longer than current standard treatments.”
“It works especially well for those with high levels of immune system markers, but it’s really exciting to see that this treatment improves outcomes for all head and neck cancer patients, regardless of these levels,” he said.
Laura Marston, 45, from Derbyshire, was diagnosed with stage four tongue cancer in 2019 after an ulcer on her tongue failed to heal. She was then referred to the Royal Marsden where she joined the clinical trial.
“I was very excited to be part of a clinical trial and knowing I was in safe hands was extremely reassuring,” she said.
“As part of the trial, I underwent two rounds of immunotherapy before having the surgery.
“In the months following the surgery, I had to relearn how to eat and speak, while also receiving ten more infusions of immunotherapy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. My clinical team was amazing and went above and beyond for anything I needed. I am amazed that I am still here six years later – this treatment has given me the gift of life.”
Cancers affecting the head and neck are the eighth most common form of cancer in the UK, although they are two to three times more common in men than in women.
According to Cancer Research UK, around 12,500 new cases are diagnosed each year and the number is rising.
Dr Lyndsy Ambler, senior manager for strategic evidence at Cancer Research UK, said: “Around 4,100 people die each year from head and neck cancer – that’s around 11 deaths every day. Any new treatment option for a disease where there has been limited progress for decades is hugely welcome. The potential of pembrolizumab to help people with head and neck cancer could represent a significant step forward in the way we treat this disease.” /Express newspaper/
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