We are one of the first Trusts in the country to start ordering a new 'one minute' immunotherapy jab, which will be rolled out on NHS for tens of thousands with cancer. The jab, which can be given in 60 seconds, can be used to treat 14 different cancer types, including lung, breast, head and neck, and cervical, and works by triggering immune cells to recognise and kill cancer cells.

The jab is a new injectable form of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) which can cut the time the treatment takes by up to 90% to help patients spend less time in hospital. 

Around 14,000 patients start pembrolizumab therapy each year in England, and most are now expected to benefit from the more convenient treatment. The new under-the-skin injection replaces an intravenous (IV) infusion, which can take up to two hours in total per session.

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 type.

89-year-old Shirley Xerxes, from St Albans in Hertfordshire, was one of the first patients in the UK to receive the new jab at the Mount Vernon Cancer Centre, managed by East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust. Shirley said: "I was really happy to try out this new way of getting my treatment. I can’t believe how little time it took.

“I was only in the chair for a matter of minutes instead of an hour or more. It’s made such a difference and gives me more time to live my life, including spending more time gardening.”

Currently hospital pharmacy teams need to carefully prepare the intravenous bags under specialist sterile conditions, which can be time-consuming.

Moving to the ready-to-administer subcutaneous injection both removes this preparation and frees up vital clinic time and space for more patients to receive treatment.