Britain’s state-run national health service will be the first in the world to offer an injection that treats cancer to hundreds of patients in England, which could cut treatment times by up to three-quarters.
Following approval from the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), NHS England said on Tuesday that hundreds of eligible patients treated with the immunotherapy atezolizumab were set to have “under the skin” injections, which will free up more time for cancer teams.
“This approval will not only allow us to deliver convenient and faster care for our patients but will also enable our teams to treat more patients throughout the day,” Dr. Alexander Martin, a consultant oncologist at West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, said.
NHS England said 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. Foreign media foreign Media
