England has become the first country in Europe to roll out a faster form of cancer immunotherapy through the NHS.

The treatment uses under-the-skin injections of checkpoint inhibitor drugs such as atezolizumab, sold as Tecentriq, and nivolumab, sold as Opdivo.

These medicines were already used in standard intravenous form. The new subcutaneous injection method gives patients the same clinical care in much less time.

Instead of spending up to an hour receiving treatment through an IV drip, some patients can now receive the medicine in about 3 to 7 minutes.

The injections are approved for use across up to 15 different  cancer types. These include lung, bladder, breast, liver, kidney, oesophageal, head and neck, and skin  cancers.

Checkpoint inhibitors work by helping the immune system recognize cancer cells and attack them more effectively.