Britain’s NHS will be the first state-run health service in the world to offer an “under-the-skin” injection to hundreds of cancer patients, which could slash treatment times by up to three quarters.
Hundreds of eligible patients will be getting the immunotherapy atezolizumab jab after approval from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), reports Reuters, which is expected to free up more time for cancer teams.
Atezolizumab, also known as Tecentriq, is usually given to patients intravenously, directly into their veins via a drip, which could often take around 30 minutes or up to an hour for some patients when it can be difficult to access a vein.
The new injection “takes approximately seven minutes, compared with 30 to 60 minutes for the intravenous infusion”, said Marius Scholtz, medical director at Roche.
Atezolizumab, made by Roche company Genentech, is an immunotherapy drug that empowers a patient’s own immune system to seek and destroy cancerous cells.
The treatment is currently offered by transfusion to NHS patients with various cancers, including lung, breast, liver and bladder.
NHS England said it expected most of the 3 600 patients starting the treatment of atezolizumab every year in England to switch to the time-saving injection, but added that patients receiving intravenous chemotherapy in combination with atezolizumab might remain on the transfusion.
Reuters article – England to rollout world-first seven-minute cancer treatment jab (Open access)
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