New jab will benefit cancer patients, says matron

A new injectable form of a key cancer drug could free up more than 2,000 hours of hospital time a year across East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire.

Humber Health Partnership (HHP) is one of the first NHS groups in the country to introduce the new injectable form of Keytruda, normally administered through a drip to treat multiple cancers.

Samantha Pickering, lead systemic anti-cancer therapy matron for the partnership, said about 288 existing patients across the two areas would benefit from the shorter treatment time.

Pickering said: "If we can make it even slightly less stressful for them, then absolutely we should be jumping on this as soon as we can."

Keytruda, also known as pembrolizumab, is a type of immunotherapy that helps the body's own immune system attack cancer cells.

Since 2015, NHS patients have received the world's best-selling drug through a drip – or intravenous infusion – which can take more than an hour to administer in hospital.

NHS England said the new injection should cut that procedure to just a couple of minutes, saving patients and staff valuable time.

The drug can currently be used to treat 14 different types of cancer in the UK, including lung, head and neck, cervical and breast.

HHP covers Hull Royal Infirmary, Castle Hill Hospital in Cottingham, Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital in Grimsby, Scunthorpe General Hospital and Goole and District Hospital.

Pickering said the partnership should see the first patient in the region administered the injection from next week.

When the injectable drug was released in March, Pickering said there were 241 patients receiving pembrolizumab in Hull and 47 in Grimsby and Scunthorpe.

She said: "In total, based on those figures that releases 2,392 hours of chair time a year.

"It means that it frees up some capacity for new patients to get started quicker."

Rob Wells, who is a senior specialist pharmacist in cancer services for the partnership and works mainly at Castle Hill Hospital, added: "It's going to free up so much of patients' lives.

"If you can reduce the chair time to minutes it can overall only be a positive thing.

"Anything that can help the staff as well administering these treatments is a benefit, too."

About 14,000 cancer patients in England start on a course of Keytruda each year, with most of those likely to be moved over to the injectable version.

In its new form, the treatment will be given every three weeks as a one-minute injection or every six weeks as a two-minute injection, depending on an individual's cancer diagnosis.

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