A growing number of Americans with cancer are traveling to China, or sending relatives there, to obtain drugs and join clinical trials that are not yet available in the United States. Once patients leave the U.S. system, the safety reviews, manufacturing checks, and patient protections tied to the Food and Drug Administration no longer automatically apply.
KFF Health News reported on Debbie Doppelt, a 60-year-old New York City jeweler with an unusual form of lung cancer that had spread to her brain. Her son flew to Shanghai and returned with 26 boxes of sunvozertinib, a drug made by Dizal Pharmaceutical, for about $10,000. She has been taking it for about 19 months, and her cancer has stayed mostly controlled with the help of a few radiation treatments and dose adjustments.
