UK NHS Revolutionizes Cancer Treatment with Atezolizumab Injection
Written by Susi, Arushi Sharma
The UK's National Health Service (NHS) is ushering in a revolutionary era in cancer treatment with the introduction of the Atezolizumab injection.
The NHS in the United Kingdom will pioneer "under the skin" cancer therapy with atezolizumab, potentially cutting treatment periods in half.
According to NHS England, the MHRA has authorized this technique, which allows eligible patients in England to receive the immunotherapy medicine subcutaneously rather than intravenously.
Atezolizumab, widely known as Tecentriq, is a Genentech immunotherapy medicine that boosts the immune system to fight cancer. Traditionally administered intravenously, this procedure might take up to an hour and can be problematic for certain people.
The NHS provides transfusion-based cancer treatments for various types of cancer, including lung, breast, liver, and bladder.
“This approval will not only allow us to deliver convenient and faster care for our patients, but will enable our teams to treat more patients throughout the day,” said Dr Alexander Martin, a consultant oncologist at West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust.
The NHS provides transfusion-based cancer treatments for various types of cancer, including lung, breast, liver, and bladder.
“It takes approximately seven minutes, compared with 30 to 60 minutes for the current method of an intravenous infusion,” said Marius Scholtz, Medical Director at Roche Products Limited as reported by Reuters.
NHS England expects that most of the approximately 3,600 yearly atezolizumab patients in England will adopt the time-saving injection method. However, patients receiving intravenous chemotherapy alongside atezolizumab can continue with transfusion-based administration.