State Biomarker Testing Insurance Coverage Laws

To the Editor A recent Viewpoint referenced the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network’s state-by-state campaign to pass legislation ensuring coverage of biomarker testing. We appreciate the attention to our advocacy campaign but disagree with the conclusion that the effect of these laws “may be limited by their lack of reach and implementation challenges.” Given the patchwork nature of the US health care system, it is often necessary to enact consumer protections on both the federal and state levels. We agree that it is important to support clinicians in ordering appropriate tests and interpreting their results, inform patients about biomarker testing, and equip facilities with infrastructure to manage testing, which all fall outside of insurance coverage; however, coverage is a foundational requirement for equitable access. Eighty percent of oncologists reported that insurance coverage for testing was either very or somewhat important in treatment decisions, and current coverage policies are more restrictive than treatment guidelines.

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Ottobre 2024

[Articles] Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy versus neoadjuvant chemotherapy for initially unresectable locally advanced colon cancer: short-term outcomes of an open-label, single-centre, randomised, controlled, phase 3 trial

Adding radiation to NACT increased the R0 resection rate, prolonged the PFS, and potentially improved OS in selected patients with initially unresectable LACC. The trial findings indicate that this approach is safe, feasible, and may confer a survival benefit.

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Settembre 2024