29/06/2025
England has recently become the first country in Europe to offer a new, faster form of immunotherapy treatment for cancer patients through the NHS.
This new method involves administering drugs like atezolizumab (Tecentriq) and nivolumab (Opdivo) via a subcutaneous (under-the-skin) injection, which significantly reduces treatment time from up to an hour to just 3–7 minutes.
This advancement improves patient experience and convenience, allowing them to spend less time in hospitals while receiving the same level of clinical care.
These injections are approved to treat up to 15 different types of cancer, including lung, bladder, breast, liver, kidney, oesophageal, head and neck, and skin cancers.
The medicines work by boosting the immune system’s ability to identify and attack cancer cells. They are known as checkpoint inhibitors and are already used in standard intravenous form, but this new injection method is much faster and more efficient.
The rollout is considered cost-neutral for the NHS due to negotiated pricing agreements, while also freeing up thousands of clinician hours each month.
Clinical trials, such as IMscin001, demonstrated that the subcutaneous version is equally effective and safe compared to the traditional intravenous route.
This innovation represents a significant step forward in cancer treatment accessibility and efficiency within the UK healthcare system.
