UK rolls out 60-second cancer injection, cutting treatment time by 90%

The UK's National Health Service (NHS) has begun offering a subcutaneous cancer immunotherapy that takes just one minute, replacing the previous intravenous infusion method that lasted for hours.

According to the BBC on 4/5, doctors will use pembrolizumab (trade name Keytruda) to treat 14 types of cancer, including lung, breast, head and neck, and cervical cancer, using this new method. Instead of taking up to two hours for each intravenous infusion, healthcare staff now only need one to two minutes to inject the medication.

This reduces patient hospital stay by 90%, while allowing medical staff to treat more cases. UK health authorities estimate that around 14,000 patients each year will switch to this convenient injectable form.

Shirley Xerxes, 89, from Hertfordshire, became one of the first to experience the injection at Mount Vernon Cancer Centre. She praised the speed of the procedure, taking only a few minutes instead of waiting over an hour as before. The woman stated the change gives her more time to enjoy life and tend to her garden.

Shirley Xerxes (center) is among the first in the UK to receive injectable Keytruda therapy. *Photo: NHS England*

Regarding its mechanism, cancer cells often emit "stop signals" like a cloak of invisibility to evade the immune system. Pembrolizumab therapy blocks these signals, enabling the body's protective cells to recognize and destroy tumors effectively.

Scientists James Allison and Tasuku Honjo won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2018 for discovering this revolutionary mechanism. Initially, the medical community used Keytruda for skin cancer, later expanding its use to many other malignant diseases. This is also the third immunotherapy drug the NHS has switched to an injectable form, following the success of Opdivo last year.

Professor Peter Johnson, National Clinical Director for Cancer at NHS England, commented that the one-minute injection offers significant hope and reduces patient fatigue during their battle with illness. UK Health Minister Wes Streeting, a cancer survivor, also highlighted that the new method accelerates care and addresses the challenge of overloaded healthcare resources. Regarding costs, the NHS did not disclose specific figures due to an agreement with US pharmaceutical company MSD, but confirmed that the price charged for the injectable and intravenous forms is nearly equivalent.

Keytruda is currently one of the most commercially successful drugs of all time, with estimated sales reaching 180 billion USD since its launch over a decade ago. However, the patents protecting this original drug will expire sequentially in 2028 in the US and 2031 in Europe, meaning rival companies could soon copy and produce similar versions at a lower cost.