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ISLAMABAD:&nbsp;Tens of thousands of cancer patients in England can now receive <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/the-nobel-prize-in-medicine-awarded-to-3-scientists-working-on-immune-systems" target="_blank">immunotherapy</a>&nbsp;in under a minute as Britain&#39;s publicly funded health service begins rolling out subcutaneous injections of pembrolizumab, a treatment previously administered via an intravenous infusion that can take up to two hours. According to England&rsquo;s National Health Service (NHS), the injectable form of the drug can be used for 14 cancer types. This includes lung, breast, head and neck, and <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pakistan-vaccinates-9-million-girls-against-cervical-cancer-despite-online-backlash" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" rel="noopener noreferrer">cervical cancers</a>. It works by blocking the PD-1 protein, which suppresses immune responses, allowing the immune system to identify and destroy cancer cells. The NHS is the body that oversees publicly funded healthcare for England&#39;s 57 million residents. The public health provider reported that roughly 14,000 patients begin pembrolizumab therapy each year in England alone, and most are now expected to receive the injection rather than the drip. The new formulation is administered every three weeks as a one-minute injection, or every six weeks as a two-minute injection, depending on the cancer type. Among the first patients to receive the injection was 89-year-old Shirley Xerxes, treated at a specialist cancer center in Hertfordshire, north of London. According to NHS England, Xerxes called the experience &quot;unbelievable.&quot; The octogenarian stated that she was &quot;only in the chair for a matter of minutes instead of an hour or more.&quot; &quot;It&#39;s made such a difference and gives me more time to live my life, including spending more time gardening,&quot; Xerxes said, as quoted by NHS England. According to the health service&rsquo;s national clinical director for <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/breast-cancer-emerges-as-indias-leading-womens-health-crisis-study" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" rel="noopener noreferrer">cancer</a>, the shift would allow patients to &ldquo;get back to living their lives rather than spending hours in a hospital chair.&rdquo; It would also free up clinical capacity to treat more patients. NHS England also noted that hospital pharmacy teams currently prepare IV bags under specialist sterile conditions, which is a time-consuming process. The ready-to-administer injection removes that step entirely and frees up clinic space. The rollout is expected to deliver faster, more convenient care while freeing up clinical capacity, with roughly 40,000 more people across England already starting cancer treatment on time. The health service described the shift as a practical solution to a strained system, saying the time saved would allow clinical teams to treat more patients and that proven treatments must continue to reach people &quot;quickly and fairly.&quot;

Close-up view of a pharmacist s hand holding a pre-filled syringe of flu vaccine before injection in a pharmacy in Pau, France, on December 8, 2025. (AFP)

Europe

A new injectable form of pembrolizumab cuts treatment time by up to 90%, freeing patients and clinical capacity across England.

Britain rolls out 60-second cancer immunotherapy jab for 15 tumor types

KARACHI: Pakistan has vaccinated about 9 million adolescent girls against the virus that causes cervical cancer, as part of a continuing national campaign that has overcome early setbacks fueled by skeptics online, the health minister said Friday. Health Minister Mustafa Kamal said the campaign that began Sept. 15 is aiming to vaccinate 13 million girls aged 9 to 14 against the human papillomavirus, or HPV, which causes most cervical cancers. He said the program so far achieved 70% of its goal. The program has overcome what Kamal said were baseless rumors spread by some parents that the vaccine could cause infertility. He gave the vaccine to his own daughter live on stage at an event in Karachi this week to build confidence. &ldquo;By the grace of God, administering the vaccine to my daughter publicly had a huge impact,&rdquo; Kamal told The Associated Press. &ldquo;From the fifth day of the campaign, refusal rates began dropping and acceptance climbed to 70&ndash;80% in some districts.&rdquo; However, many parents are still reluctant. &ldquo;I have heard that the vaccination is being used to make women infertile and reduce the population of Muslims,&rdquo; said Ali Sheikh, a mother of two in Karachi, the capital of Sindh province. She said that &ldquo;social media is full of such claims,&rdquo; and that she was advised by relatives not to allow health workers to vaccinate her daughters. Health worker Shamim Anwar, 52, said the job of administering the vaccines has been exhausting. &ldquo;It is very difficult work. Many parents refuse because of rumors and hesitate to let us vaccinate their daughters,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Sometimes we even face humiliation, but we tolerate it because we have to complete the vaccination target,&rdquo; she said, as she went door-to-door for the campaign in Karachi. Cervical cancer is the third most common cancer among Pakistani women after breast and ovarian cancers. Globally, it is the fourth most common. Each year, between 18,000 and 20,000 women in Pakistan die of the disease, according to health authorities. Experts promoted the campaign under the slogan &ldquo;one jab will do the job.&rdquo; Authorities set up vaccination centers and deployed teams to schools nationwide to reach as many girls as possible. Kamal acknowledged that during the first days of the drive, refusals outnumbered acceptances, fueled by false claims that the vaccine campaign is a Western plot to cause infertility. Officials say the vaccine, offered free of charge, typically causes only minor side effects. The 13 million girls targeted in the initial campaign were in Punjab and Sindh provinces and in Pakistan-held Kashmir. The country plans to expand the coverage to additional areas by 2027, hoping to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health problem by 2030. It became the 149th country to add the HPV vaccine to its immunization schedule.

Health

Pakistan has vaccinated 9 million girls against HPV in a national campaign aiming for 13 million. Despite rumors linking the vaccine to infertility, uptake rose after Health Minister Mustafa Kamal publicly vaccinated his daughter to build confidence.

Articles tagged with "Cervical cancer"

Britain rolls out 60-second cancer immunotherapy jab for 15 tumor types

Pakistan vaccinates 9 million girls against cervical cancer despite online backlash