BioCentury
ARTICLE | Politics & Policy

CMS to discuss genetic tests for cancer

April 27, 2013 12:23 AM UTC

CMS released meeting material including an agenda and speaker list ahead of a May 1 meeting of its Medicare Evidence Development & Coverage Advisory Committee (MEDCAC) to discuss technology assessments for two types of genetic tests for cancer diagnosis. At the meeting, MEDCAC will vote on whether existing evidence supports the clinical validity -- defined as how reliably test results are associated with the presence of the disease or target condition -- of DNA- or RNA-based tests to predict the tissue of origin in patients with cancer of unknown origin. The panel will also vote on whether there is sufficient evidence of the clinical validity of fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) tests in patients with atypical squamous cells of unknown significance or low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSIL) in cytological specimens from the uterine cervix. The panel will vote on whether there is sufficient evidence that both classes of test improve overall health outcomes for patients whose cancer treatments are guided by the results of the tests. CMS is considering issuing National Coverage Determinations (NCDs) for genetic testing, according to a list of potential NCD topics released by the agency in November (see BioCentury Extra, Feb. 13). ...