How does the injection that treats 15 types of cancer work?

The UK's National Health Service is expected to start rolling out the cancer injection nivolumab next June to the first 1,200 eligible patients.

The cancer injection nivolumab can be used to treat 15 types of cancer, including lung, colon, kidney, bladder, esophageal, skin, head and neck cancers.

About 40% of cancer patients receiving intravenous nivolumab treatment will be eligible for the new drug, which takes just five minutes and is given every two weeks, according to drug development news site Drug Discovery World .

The UK National Health Service is expected to start rolling out the injected cancer drug nivolumab next June.

Illustration: AI

Prior to approval, nivolumab injection was extensively tested to evaluate its pharmacokinetics, efficacy, and safety compared with intravenous administration.

A phase 3 clinical trial in patients with advanced or metastatic renal cell carcinoma showed it to be as effective as intravenous therapy.

Specifically, the new injection produces drug concentrations equivalent to 1-hour intravenous infusion in the body and responds well to tumor treatment and is as safe as the intravenous form.

The drug is well tolerated, with some side effects such as fatigue, musculoskeletal pain, itching, rash and cough.

How do cancer injections work?

The drug targets a protein that helps the immune system better fight cancer.

Nivolumab is a cancer treatment drug that uses immunotherapy by blocking a protein that prevents the immune system from functioning normally, while attacking cancer cells and helping the immune system find and destroy cancer cells, according to Drug Discovery World.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/thuoc-tiem-dieu-tri-15-loai-ung-thu-tac-dung-manh-co-nao-185250505152853403.htm