As a Vietnam veteran and a cancer patient, Leroy Niggli has found a new way to serve those around him by being the recipient of the first Bispecific T-Cell Engager (BiTE) therapy offered at Logan Health. For him, paving the way for future cancer patients in the Flathead Valley reflects his trust in his health care team as well as his commitment to the community. “I’m a veteran,” he said. “I’m not afraid to do now what people might benefit from in the future.”
In January of 2020, Leroy was diagnosed with mantle cell lymphoma, a rare, aggressive type of blood cancer that can spread throughout the lymphatic system and to other parts of the body. Symptoms of the cancer include intense swelling in the lymph nodes, night sweats, and pain in the lower back 一 all of which Leroy experienced. His treatment through the years included radiation, oral chemotherapy, and infusion chemotherapy combined with targeted antibody therapy, but he made limited progress. “The tumor from those lymph nodes was so vast and so large that I couldn’t wear jeans six months ago,” he recalled. Leroy had been in treatment for four years when his oncologist, Peter Wagner, MD, suggested BiTE therapy as the last local treatment option.
BiTE therapy is a treatment that assists the T-cells of the body, which attack diseased cells and help prevent infection. “With BiTE therapy, the bispecific antibodies find and bind to the T-cell and the cancer cell, carrying and activating the T-cell to destroy the cancer cell,” Dr. Wagner explained. Patients who have not made progress with other treatments are eligible for BiTE therapy, which is administered through a series of infusions. Previously, the cancer team would have to send patients outside of the Flathead Valley to receive this treatment, but Dr. Wagner and his colleagues set out to administer the first treatment in Kalispell, establishing the service to keep patients close to home for their care.
Leroy was enthusiastic about the opportunity, particularly because of his trust in Dr. Wagner and his care team. “If it wasn’t for Dr. Wagner, I wouldn’t be here. He goes on and above what normal people would do,” he said. He also had great confidence in the team members he had been seeing for years, including the radiation staff, infusion staff and nurse coordinators. “The receptionists are great. The nurses are great. The whole office is great. I’ve been around so much; they all know me. Every one of those nurses has treated me at one time or another.”
Before starting treatment, Dr. Wagner and the cancer care prior-authorization team were able to work with the pharmaceutical company and provide the treatment through “compassionate use,” with no cost to Leroy. Once this was accomplished, Leroy began the specialized treatment in the comfort of his hometown.
Since August, Leroy’s treatments have been very effective, reducing the size of his tumors as well as his swelling. “So far, it’s keeping the tumors down. And the pain is almost gone now,” he said. “Dr. Wagner’s looking for remission but that’s kind of down the road there. We’ll see what happens.” With one infusion session a month and consistent blood draws, the cancer team continues to diligently monitor Leroy as he improves. Above all, they appreciate his attitude of gratefulness and his willingness to be the first of many BiTE therapy patients at Logan Health.