A liver transplant might save him — if he can get the drug he needs to stay alive long enough
In a clinical trial from the drugmaker, 62 patients with cholangiocarcinoma received Ziihera. In order to be included in the trial, patients must not have previously taken a HER2 drug for their cancer.
Cigna’s denials, however, indicate that Middleton could only get Ziihera if he had already taken a HER2 drug.
“The problem is that there is no evidence for using Ziihera AFTER prior HER2 treatment,” Palmeri wrote in a text message.
In the trial, more than half (52%) of participants responded to the drug. Among those who did, the effects lasted an average of 15 months.
“More than 50% is incredible for a second-line treatment,” said Dr. Nipun Merchant, chief of the division of surgical oncology at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Health System. “You don’t see that very often.”
Dr. Douglas Rubinson, a senior physician specializing in gastrointestinal cancers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, said Ziihera “could be a game-changer in targeting HER2” in cancers of the gastrointestinal tract.
However, he was careful not to promise that a liver transplant would cure Middleton.
