How much time do you spend each day doing unimportant things? Probably much more than five minutes. Now imagine if in those same five minutes you could literally change a life, maybe your own. That is precisely the promise of the new immunotherapy (don't call it a vaccine) that the English health system, the infamous NHS, has just introduced to treat fifteen different types of cancer. And it's not just about minutes saved, but a real leap in quality in hospital management and in the daily lives of patients.
Rapid immunotherapy, radical change
The new treatment, based on the subcutaneous injection of the drug nivolumab, represents a significant breakthrough compared to the traditional intravenous drip, which required between 30 and 60 minutes per session. Now, as mentioned, five minutes are enough. Nivolumab is not an absolute novelty, it has already been widely used for some time in oncology; the real revolution, however, lies in the method of administration.
It is estimated that in the UK around 1.200 patients per month will be able to benefit from this rapid therapy, applicable to as many as 15 types of cancer, including melanoma, bladder cancer and esophageal cancer. A significant novelty, therefore, not only from a medical point of view, but also from a logistical and human one.
Elizabeth O'Mahony, NHS England's chief financial officer, said: โThis is fantastic news for patients: reducing treatment times from an hour to just a few minutes is a huge benefit for people undergoing cancer treatment, helping them spend less time in hospital.
The advantages of such a rapid therapy
According to data released by the British health system, the adoption of this subcutaneous immunotherapy will save approximately 1.000 hours of clinical work each month, equivalent to over a full year of treatment saved annually. It's as if the entire NHS earned a bonus of valuable time each year to dedicate to other patients and other treatments, also easing the burden on hospital facilities and improving the overall efficiency of the system.
The perception of the patients involved was also highly positive: during the clinical trials, the vast majority stated that they clearly preferred the subcutaneous injection to the long and stressful intravenous drip.
Future prospects and concrete impacts
This simpler and more immediate approach to therapy will not entail additional costs for the health system, thanks to an agreement reached between the NHS and the manufacturing company, the Bristol Myers Squibb. The economic aspect is fundamental when it comes to public health and sustainability of care.
Furthermore, the speed of the therapy could encourage more people to regularly undergo the prescribed treatments, thus also improving clinical outcomes in the medium and long term. In fact, it is not just a question of speed, but of quality of life and treatment. The new rapid immunotherapy, in short, is not only an innovative technique, but an approach that redefines the relationship of patients with oncological therapy. An innovation capable of truly changing lives, a small daily miracle that arises from scientific innovation and the desire to make it available to everyone, in the shortest possible time.
