Cancer treatment times halved with new injection

Karen Thompson said the new treatment has transformed her hospital experience

Treatment times for some cancer patients have been halved by a hospital using pioneering immunotherapy injections.

University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) is the second trust in the UK to roll out a new way of administering the drug Nivolumab to patients, designed to stimulate an immune response from the body against tumour cells.

In the past patients would spend half a day in hospital having infusions of the drug, but now they can be in and out in less than an hour.

Karen Thomson, 63, who is receiving the treatment following a skin cancer diagnosis, said: "It's a much, much quicker process. There's huge benefits when it comes to parking and things like that."

Nivolumab is available via an injection and can therefore be delivered at a quicker pace than the intravenous (IV) alternative, which are through tubes.

At Bristol Haematology and Oncology Centre (BHOC), patients with melanoma [skin cancer], renal, lung and upper Gastrointestinal cancers, such as stomach cancer, are eligible for this new therapy.

Previously, cancer patients typically received an intravenous infusion, which takes 30 to 60 minutes and means up to two hours in a chemotherapy day unit chair.

With the Nivolumab injection, that time is more than halved, with an appointment lasting about 45 minutes.

Dr Helen Winter, UHBW medical oncologist, said: "The shorter treatment times make all the difference when you are faced with long-term cancer treatment.

"The single injection and ability to be treated closer to home ensures added comfort for our patients."

Bristol's oncology team, pictured above, said the shorter treatment time makes a huge difference to patients

Ms Thomson, from Didmarton, Gloucestershire, is a long-term outpatient at BHOC who is halfway through two years of treatment with Nivolumab for Stage 4 melanoma.

Ms Thomson, who is now in remission, said: "Initially immunotherapy by IV infusion meant going to hospital for half a day, quite a lot of checking and work getting the IV line into my arm and then it would take an hour to hour and a half getting drugs through that.

"Whereas now, through Nivolumab, I have that as an injection just under my skin into my thigh or abdomen and the whole process takes half an hour to 40 minutes.

"I can be in and out of hospital in 50 minutes, so it's also a huge saving when it comes to parking."

The treatment can be delivered in an outpatient clinic, freeing up space in UHBW's high-demand chemotherapy day unit.

Patients can also receive the injection at South Bristol Community Hospital and Concord Medical Centre in South Gloucestershire.

Dr Rebecca Maxwell, chief medical director at UHBW, said they were proud to deliver more healthcare options in community settings and "relieve pressure on our hospital sites".

"With Nivolumab immunotherapy we can see and treat more cancer patients in Bristol and are moving closer to our target cancer treatment waiting times," she said.