A new injection takes only 5 minutes and treats 15 types of cancer

It is the first health service in Europe to offer patients the nivolumab injection immunotherapy drug. The injection, which takes only three to five minutes, can treat 15 different types of cancer, in particular lung, colon, kidney, bladder, esophagus, skin and neck cancer, depending The Gardian.

The UK medication and health products agency (MHRA) has approved the Nivolumab injectable drug, called Opdivo, as an alternative to the traditional cancer treatment, which can take up to one hour to be administered intravenously.

This new drug saves a lot of treatment time. Professor Peter Johnson, National Clinical Director of NHS for Cancer, said that time gains would treat more patients and lighten the health system burden.

Immunotherapy was a big step forward for many cancer patients and being able to inject medication in a few minutes makes the process much more practical, says Professor Johnson.

A new drug helps the immune system to detect and destroy cancer cells

Normally, cancer cells find ways to deactivate immune cells. Nivolumab helps the immune system to fight cancer by blocking this “tip” of cancer cells, allowing the immune system to detect and destroy cancer cells.

Patients with cancer can be assured that this new drug is affordable, more expensive than traditional cancer treatments.

Naser Turabi, responsible for evaluation of evidence, cancer research and data analysis at Cancer Research UK, said: “Inventions like this will be crucial to treat cancer patients earlier and more efficiently, according to The Gardian. »