Dignity Health and Aetna are in negotiations.
For more information, call 877-729-2669 or visit www.dignityhealth.org/aetna.
At The Dignity Health – Cancer Institute at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center our multidisciplinary team combines expertise from two Dignity Health centers of excellence - the Dignity Health – Cancer Institute at St. Joseph’s and The Center for Liver Disease and Transplantation - to to form a multidisciplinary team of specialists focused on the treatment of liver cancer. The team ensures the timely assessment of patients and an in depth discussion during our Liver Cancer tumor board where pathology, imaging and current national guidelines are reviewed to determine a customized treatment plan for each patient. For more information, please call (855) 484-7046.
Below is a brief summary about Nivolumab.
Nivolumab (brand name Opdivo®) is the first and only Immuno-Oncology agent to receive this FDA approval; this accelerated approval is based on tumor response rate and durability of response in these patients.
The burden of liver cancer in the U.S. is significant and is expected to increase in the decades to come.3,4 A recently-released American Cancer Society (ACS) report published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians notes that death rates for liver cancer are increasing at a faster pace than any other cancer, doubling since the mid-1980s.3
Hepatocellular carcinoma is often diagnosed in the advanced-stage where treatment options are limited and there is a high unmet need for patients who are intolerant to or who have progressed on sorafenib therapy.3,5,6
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of liver cancer and the fastest-growing cause of cancer death in the U.S.1,3,7 The incidence of liver cancer in the U.S. has more than tripled since 1980.3 It is estimated that there will be approximately 41,000 new cases of liver and intrahepatic bile duct cancer and 29,000 deaths from these diseases in the U.S. this year.2 The majority of these cases are caused by Hepatitis B virus (HBV) or Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections, making chronic infection with HBV or HCV the most common risk factor for liver cancer.7,8 However, the increasing prevalence of metabolic syndrome and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is expected to contribute to increased rates of HCC in the U.S. in the foreseeable future.9,10
OPDIVO® (nivolumab) is indicated for the treatment of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who have been previously treated with sorafenib. This indication is approved under accelerated approval based on tumor response rate and durability of response. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in the confirmatory trials.
Nivolumab injection may cause side effects and some may be serious. Ask your physician to explain these in detail during your visit.
