Cancer patients to benefit from faster injectable treatment
Cancer patients in East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire are set to spend less time in hospital thanks to a faster form of treatment being introduced locally.
Humber Health Partnership has become one of the first NHS organisations in the country to offer an injectable version of pembrolizumab, also known as Keytruda.
The immunotherapy drug is used to treat 14 different types of cancer, including lung, breast, cervical and head and neck cancers.
Until now, many patients have received pembrolizumab through an intravenous infusion, which can take up to two hours per session.
The new injectable version can be given in as little as two minutes, reducing treatment time by up to 90%.
Humber Health Partnership runs Hull University Teaching Hospitals and Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust.
Dr Victoria Brown, Consultant in Oncology at the Queen’s Centre at Castle Hill Hospital, said the change would make a significant difference for patients.
She said: “This new injectable form of the immunotherapy drug reduces the time treatment takes by up to 90%.
“While we already use the drug to deliver intravenous infusions, patients have to come into hospital for hours to receive the medication through an IV drip.
“Delivering the same drug by injection can be done in a minimum of two minutes so it’ll be much better for patients who will be free to get on with their lives instead of spending so much time in hospital, undergoing treatment.”
Pembrolizumab works by helping the body’s immune cells identify and kill cancer cells.
Some patients will now be among around 14,000 people nationally expected to benefit from the more convenient treatment.
Depending on the type of cancer, the injection will be given either every three weeks as a two-minute treatment, or every six weeks as a four-minute treatment.
Dr Brown said the change would also help hospital teams treat more people.
She added: “Not only does this reduce the time patients need to come into hospital for treatment, it means our day unit will be able to see and treat more people waiting for treatment.
“As well as helping patients and clinicians, it also reduces the time hospital pharmacy teams have to take to prepare IV bags for infusion so it will also have a positive impact on the wider NHS.”
Matron Samantha Pickering said around 288 existing patients in East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire will benefit from the shorter treatment time.
All new patients who are suitable for the drug will now start on the injectable version.
She said: “Research shows patients who have treatment in injectable form find it to be more comfortable and it has a reduced psychological impact.
“In addition to this being a quicker method of delivery, thanks to the fast chairs in our Day Unit, patient visits will become even quicker.”