Four of five patients whose tumours vanished are still alive — some more than five years on

Head and neck cancer that comes back after treatment is one of the hardest cancers to live with — options run out fast. So a small group of patients in an early trial matters: 19 people whose cancer had returned or spread received a two-step treatment called photoimmunotherapy, paired with the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab. First a drug is given that sticks to cancer cells; then doctors shine a red light on the tumour, which switches the drug on and kills those cells while sparing healthy tissue nearby. Five of the 19 saw their tumours disappear completely — and four of those five are still alive, between three and a half and more than five years later. Across the group, responses lasted a median of 44.3 months, about a third of patients were alive at four years, and no new safety problems appeared. It is a small, early study with no comparison group, so the numbers need care — but a larger final-stage trial is already under way to test the treatment properly.

SDG 3 · Good health and well-being — Mechanism: tech innovation