The NHS in England is beginning to make retifanlimab available to people with advanced anal cancer. According to an NHS England announcement dated 12 November 2026, around 250 patients a year could be eligible for the immunotherapy. It is intended for people whose cancer has spread or returned locally and cannot be removed surgically.
Retifanlimab helps the immune system recognise and attack cancer cells. The NHS describes it as the first immunotherapy approved specifically for advanced anal cancer. It will be given by infusion once every four weeks for up to a year, initially alongside standard chemotherapy.
What the trial showed
According to trial results cited by the NHS, survival in the group receiving retifanlimab alongside chemotherapy was 32.8 months, compared with 22.2 months among those receiving chemotherapy alone. The NHS describes the difference as around 11 months. This is a comparison between groups of trial participants, not a guarantee that every patient will live that much longer.
The figures come from the trial summary in the NHS England announcement. They do not provide a complete picture of the treatment’s benefits and risks, including possible side effects.
Fast-tracked access applies to England
The NHS says access was made available within a week of the medicine receiving UK approval and a recommendation from NICE, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, which assesses treatments’ clinical effectiveness and value for money. The accelerated rollout is being enabled through the Cancer Drugs Fund, which funds access to cancer medicines.
The announcement means the treatment can begin to be made available to eligible patients from 12 November. It does not mean that everyone who qualifies has already received it. The estimate of around 250 patients a year refers to those who could meet the treatment criteria, rather than the number already being treated.
The programme covers England, not the whole of the UK. That distinction matters for patients in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland: the NHS England announcement does not confirm an equivalent rollout in those nations. According to the NHS, around 1,600 people are diagnosed with anal cancer across the UK each year.
