England will soon offer 'under the skin' injection to treat cancer, in just 7 minutes

Patients in England will be the first ones in the world to access a seven-minute cancer treatment jab. The UK's National Health Service (NHS) will offer these 'under the skin' injections to hundred of patients and will help reduce the treatment time by up to three quarters, according to Reuters. 

Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) approved the NHS to roll out these under the skin jabs.

Hundreds of patients will now get the immunotherapy drug Atezolizumab through an injection. Usually, Atezolizumab is given to patients intravenously via an IV drip. 

What is the drug atezolizumab?

• Atezolizumab, which is also known as Tecentriq, is an immunotherapy drug and works by blocking the action of a certain protein in cancer cells. 
• This helps the person's immune system to fight against the cancer cells, and helps to slow tumour growth.
• This drug helps treat different cancers including bladder, liver, breast, lung cancers. The drug is produced by Genentech, which is a member of the Roche Group. 

In England, around 3,600 patients are given the drug Atezolizumab.

Although, patients who will receive Atezolizumab alongside chemotherapy may still be given the drug intravenously.

Atezolizumab injection is a good option

After getting the approval to administer the Atezolizumab under the skin injections, majority of the patients will receive the drug via a seven-minute injection instead of getting Atezolizumab intravenously which would usually take up to 30 minutes to an hour.

This not only significantly reduces treatment time, but is a convenient and faster option to care for cancer patients. 

Professor Peter Johnson, NHS England’s national director for cancer said, "The world-first introduction of this treatment will mean that hundreds of patients can spend less time at the hospital and will free up valuable time in NHS chemotherapy units."

He added, "Maintaining the best possible quality of life for cancer patients is vital, so the introduction of faster under-the-skin injections will make an important difference."

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