Britain’s government, the National Health Service, will introduce an injection that can cure hundreds of cancer patients and reduce treatment time by three-quarters. This is the first National Health Service in the world to do so.
After receiving approval from the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), NHS England said on Tuesday that hundreds of patients treated with immunotherapy are set to be given ‘subcutaneous’ injections of Atezolizumab. Ultimately, cancer teams will get more time.
Dr Alexander Martin, the consultant oncologist at West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, told Reuters: ‘This approval will allow us to provide more convenient and faster care for our patients and enable our teams to treat more patients throughout the day.”
It Is Given Directly Into The Patient’s Vein Through A Drip.
NHS England said that atezolizumab, or Tecentriq, is usually given intravenously to patients through a drip directly into their veins. However, it may take some patients 30 minutes or an hour to reach the vein.
‘It takes about seven minutes, whereas the current method of intravenous infusion takes 30 to 60 minutes,’ said Marius Scholtz, medical director of Roche Products Ltd.
Atezolizumab, the backbone of Roche company Genentech, is an immunotherapy drug that empowers patients’ immune systems to find and destroy cancer cells.
Currently, the treatment is offered to NHS patients suffering from various cancers, including lung, breast, liver and bladder.
‘Majority Should Opt For Time-Saving Medicine’
NHS England said it expected most of its 3,600 cancer patients starting treatment with Atezolizumab each year in England would opt for the time-saving injection.
However, it also states that patients who will be receiving intravenous chemotherapy with Atezolizumab can continue on transfusions.
Speaking to The Guardian, Professor Peter Johnson, NHS England’s National Director of Cancer, said: The world-first introduction of this treatment will mean hundreds of patients can spend less time in hospital and save valuable time in NHS chemotherapy units. Maintaining the best possible quality of life for cancer patients is critical; a rapid subcutaneous injection will make a significant difference.
