Key Summary
- An injectable form of the cancer drug Keytruda is in use across three of Northern Ireland's five health trusts.
- The new subcutaneous injection takes just one to two minutes.
- Earlier, the drug was received by patients through a drip which takes more than an hour.
A key injectable cancer drug which can be used to treat multiple cancers is being offered at three of Northern Ireland's five health trusts.
Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) is a type of immunotherapy that helps the body's own immune system attack cancer cells.
The injectable version has been rolled out for patients in England and Wales from Monday.
Normally, the drug is received by patients through a drip which takes more than an hour in hospital. However, injectables provide a quicker and less intrusive option.
Northern Ireland health minister Mike Nesbitt, responding to a question by the Democratic Unionist Party's Diane Dodds, confirmed it was already available in Northern Ireland and said he hoped to announce soon that all health trusts would be prescribing the drug.
The Western, South Eastern and Northern health trusts are currently using the drug.
In its new form, 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 diagnosis.
NHS hospitals in all parts of the UK can order pembrolizumab after approval from the medicines regulator.
