CMS has agreed to provide Medicare coverage for the first whole-genome sequencing test for cancer.
Researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis developed the test to guide treatment decisions for patients with two types of blood cancers: acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome. Under the current standard of care, physicians must use several different tests to assess patients' genetic changes.
Oncologists at Siteman Cancer Center — part of Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis — have been using the ChromoSeq test in clinical practice since 2021.
Physicians nationwide caring for Medicare patients with these types of blood cancers can now order the test through Washington University Pathology Services, and CMS will cover the cost, according to an Aug. 17 news release.
Learn more here.