A NEW one-minute cancer drug injection will speed up treatment for thousands of NHS patients.

The medicine pembrolizumab, aka Keytruda, will be available as a quicker jab instead of a half-hour infusion.

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Patients usually receive the medicine through an IV line (stock image) Credit: Getty

Patient Shirley Xerxes, 89, from St Albans, said: “I can’t believe how little time it took.”

It is an immunotherapy prescribed to around 14,000 Brits per year and works by stimulating the immune system to attack cancer cells by itself.

Patients typically spend up to two hours in a hospital clinic while it is slowly administered over 30 minutes or more via an IV line or drip.

But the drug is now available in injectable form that can be given as a one-minute jab every three weeks or a two-minute injection every six weeks.

It has been made more concentrated with an extra component added to help the body absorb it faster.

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The shot is given into the thigh or stomach instead of being infused through a vein in the arm.

Professor Peter Johnson, cancer chief at NHS England, said: “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.

“Managing cancer treatment and regular hospital trips can be really exhausting.

“Not only will this make therapy much quicker and more convenient for patients, it will help free up vital appointments for NHS teams to treat more people and bring down waiting times.”

Pembrolizumab is one of the most successful cancer drugs ever and has been hailed as a game-changer for a number of tumour types.

The NHS uses it to treat 14 cancers including those of the breast, bowel, lung, head and neck, womb, stomach and melanoma skin cancer.

Shirley Xerxes, 89, from St Albans, Hertfordshire, was one of the first patients to receive the jab and said: “I can’t believe how little time it took.

“It’s made such a difference and gives me more time to live my life, including spending more time gardening.”

Melanoma patient Claire Pearson, 52, added: “The time saved allows us to spend less time as cancer patients and more time being normal.”

Cancer Research UK CEO Michelle Mitchell added: “At a time when capacity across the NHS is severely limited, innovations like this are crucial.”