New Drug 'Amivantamab' Shows Therapeutic Effect in EGFR Exon 20 Mutant Lung Cancer

Jo Byung-chul, Head of the Lung Cancer Center at Yonsei Cancer Hospital (Photo by Severance)

[Asia Economy Reporter Jihee Kim] The therapeutic efficacy of 'Amivantamab,' a targeted treatment for mutant lung cancer that received FDA approval in the United States last May, has been confirmed. Amivantamab is a new lung cancer drug developed by Janssen, which can be used for non-small cell lung cancer with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) exon 20 mutations.

On the 23rd, the research team led by Byung-Chul Cho, Director of the Lung Cancer Center at Yonsei Cancer Hospital (Professor of Oncology), announced that Amivantamab showed a 40% response rate in EGFR exon 20 mutant lung cancer. The results of this study were published in the latest issue of the world-renowned clinical oncology journal, Journal of Clinical Oncology (IF 44.544).

In Asia, including Korea, about 50% of non-small cell lung cancers have genetic mutations in EGFR. Among these, EGFR exon 20 insertion mutations are mutations in the amino acid sequence that promote the growth of cancer cells and account for about 12% of all EGFR mutations.

EGFR exon 20 insertion mutant lung cancer shows resistance to existing EGFR targeted therapies such as Iressa, Tagrisso, and Taseq. Therefore, there were no suitable treatment options other than cytotoxic chemotherapy.

From 2016 to 2020, Director Cho's research team evaluated the efficacy of Amivantamab in 81 patients with EGFR exon 20 mutant lung cancer who did not respond to existing treatments. Among the 81 patients, 40 (49%) were Asian, and the rest were non-Asian; they had received platinum-based chemotherapy for three or more conditions, including brain metastases.

The study results showed an overall response rate of 40% where cancer cells disappeared or decreased after Amivantamab treatment. The duration of drug response was 11.1 months, and progression-free survival was 8.3 months. EGFR exon 20 mutant lung cancer is known to have a progression-free survival of only 2 to 3 months with standard treatments and generally poor prognosis.

Patients treated with Amivantamab experienced mild skin rash or drug hypersensitivity reactions, but severe adverse reactions were rare. Additionally, Amivantamab showed consistent efficacy across various genotypes of EGFR exon 20 mutations reported so far.

Director Cho stated, "This study demonstrated the excellent anticancer efficacy and tolerability of Amivantamab in EGFR exon 20 mutant lung cancer," adding, "Amivantamab will be a new treatment option for patients with EGFR exon 20 mutant lung cancer who previously had no targeted therapy options."

Director Cho is the principal investigator of the multinational, multicenter phase 1 clinical trial Chrysalis for Amivantamab. He conducted translational research on the antitumor mechanism of Amivantamab in exon 20 mutant lung cancer, elucidating its antitumor effect mechanism. He notably led the clinical development of Amivantamab, resulting in final FDA approval in the U.S. Amivantamab is currently pending approval from the Korea Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.