Alex Trelinski
SPAIN’S Health Ministry will fund a new immunotherapy treatment for different types of cancer, which replaces the current intravenous infusion with an injection.
The new method will cut treatment times for patients from an hour to just seven minutes.
Health Minister, Monica Garcia, said: “It is a new immunotherapy against cancer that is less invasive and more effective.”
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The drug developed by Roche is approved for some of the most aggressive and difficult-to-treat forms of cancer, such as early-stage non-small cell lung cancer or for various forms of metastatic cancer; hepatocellular carcinoma; metastatic triple-negative breast cancer or alveolar soft tissue sarcoma, among others.
Patients will receive the atezolizumab injection in the thigh every three weeks without the need to remain under observation, which results in less hassle and a saving of resources for the National Health System.
Until now, the drug was authorised but had to be administered intravenously.
The use of atezolizumab in an injection was approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in January.
Alba Silveiro, a clinical trials nurse at the Vall D’Hebron Institute of Oncology in Barcelona said: “Patients have the feeling that they are less sick by spending less time in hospital and the preparation of the drug is easier and simpler because it does not require a sterile environment.”
Therefore the average six hours that a person spends in hospital on the current intravenous route between arrival, blood tests, obtaining the results, preparing the material, undergoing the infusion and remaining under observation is essentially halved.
A study showed that the injection is preferred by 79% of patients, because they find it less invasive, painful and uncomfortable, which has an impact on a better quality of life.
Nine out of ten healthcare professionals agreed that the injection is easy to administer and three out of four said it could save time for healthcare teams.
In addition, an injection allows a clearer and more precise use of the medication, according to Raquel Sanchez, pharmacist in charge of the Hospital Pharmacy area of the MD Anderson Centre in Madrid.
“There was some reluctance due to the fear of putting certain volumes of drug into the subcutaneous layer, but with this drug it has been shown that a large amount can be administered and in a matter of seven minutes, a patient can continue with their normal life”, she stated.
