Thousands of cancer patients in England to benefit from new immunotherapy jab | Cancer
Thousands of patients each year across England will benefit from a new immunotherapy treatment that can be used for a variety of cancers, the NHS has announced.
The injectable form of pembrolizumab, which can be administered in less than two minutes, kills cancer cells by blocking a protein called PD-1, which acts as a brake on immune responses and allows the immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells.
This new form of immunotherapy will replace pembrolizumab administered via an intravenous drip in a specialist cleanroom. Its preparation and implementation can be time-consuming and expensive for NHS staff to maintain; It takes approximately two hours per session for the patient.
Most of the 14,000 patients currently using pembrolizumab are expected to benefit from the new injectable version.
The treatment, delivered as a one-minute injection every three weeks or a two-minute injection every six weeks, is estimated to save the NHS more than 100,000 hours of preparation and treatment time each year.
Last year, some 15,000 cancer patients qualified for nivolumab, an immunotherapy injection that takes three to five minutes to administer. With the addition of this treatment, two immunotherapies are now available on the NHS for almost 30 types of cancer.
Prof Peter Johnson, NHS national clinical director for cancer, said: “This immunotherapy offers a lifeline for thousands of patients and it is great that this new rapid vaccine can now take just a minute to administer, meaning patients can get back to living their lives rather than spending hours in a hospital chair.
“Managing cancer treatment and regular hospital trips can be really tiring, and this innovation will not only make treatment much faster and more convenient for patients, but will also help free up vital appointments for NHS teams to treat more people and continue to reduce waiting times.”
Shirley Xerxes, 89, from St Albans, was one of the first patients to receive this new treatment on the NHS. “I can’t believe how little time it took,” he said. “I stayed in the chair for just a few minutes instead of an hour or more. It made a huge difference and gave me more time to live my life, including more time gardening.”
University hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS foundation trust will be one of the first hospitals in England to provide treatment as well as NHS trust training in East and North Hertfordshire.
James Richardson, national specialist advisor for cancer medicines at NHS England, said: “This is a win-win innovation because patients will spend much less time in hospital and, importantly, our clinical teams will have greater capacity to provide care to others.
“The time saved through this change is a huge win for the NHS and demonstrates how we continue to modernize cancer care for the benefit of patients.”
