Tens of thousands of cancer patients to benefit from one-minute NHS jab

The NHS is introducing a one-minute jab that could help tens of thousands of cancer patients.

Around 14,000 people in England start using pembrolizumab (Keytruda) via a drip each year, and most are now expected to move to the immunotherapy injection to treat more than a dozen types of the disease.

Until now, patients have had to spend long periods on drips to get the drug into their system.

But the time needed for treatment can be cut by up to 90% using the new injectable form.

The jab works by telling the body's immune system to recognise and kill cancer cells.

And it is powerful against several types of the disease, including lung, breast, head and neck, and cervical cancer.

The treatment is given every three weeks as a one-minute injection or every six weeks as a two-minute injection, depending on what type that people have.

Health officials have said the innovation "will help free up vital appointments for NHS teams to treat more people and continue to bring down waiting times".

Pembrolizumab, made by MSD, works by blocking a protein called PD-1, which acts as a brake on immune responses, releasing the immune system to recognise and attack cancer cells.

At the moment, hospital pharmacy teams need to carefully prepare the drug in intravenous bags under sterile conditions, which can be time-consuming for NHS staff.

The ready-to-use injection reduces the amount of time that workers spend on preparing treatment by 44%, MSD analysis suggests.

One of the first patients to receive the new injection on the NHS was 89-year-old Shirley Xerxes, from St Albans in Hertfordshire.

Ms Xerxes, who was treated for bowel cancer at the Mount Vernon Cancer Centre, part of East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust, said: "Having the injection has been great and the nurse was so good, so kind."

"I just had it in my tummy. But it's not as quick as a COVID jab. It takes a couple of minutes."

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Professor Peter Johnson, NHS national clinical director for cancer, said: "This immunotherapy offers a lifeline for thousands of patients."

He added that "it's fantastic that this new rapid jab can now take just a minute to deliver - meaning patients can get back to living their lives rather than spending hours in a hospital chair".

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said the "rollout will offer quicker, more convenient care, saving patients time and helping them in their recovery with less time in hospital".

(c) Sky News 2026: Tens of thousands of cancer patients to benefit from one-minute NHS jab