Insurance coverage expands for prostate cancer test

GenomeDx Biosciences has entered into contractual agreements for diagnostic laboratory testing as a participating provider that will expand insurance coverage for the company’s Decipher test for prostate cancer. 

The agreements will bring the Decipher test to the private preferred provider organizations Stratose Inc., Three Rivers Provider Network, and Fortified Provider Network, bringing coverage of the test to over 62.6 million patients.

"We are focusing on providing access to patients who can benefit from the Decipher test, which offers physicians and their patients actionable information from which to make informed decisions about the course of treatment after prostate surgery," said Doug Dolginow, MD, CEO of GenomeDx. "We are confident that patient access to Decipher will continue to improve as more insurance providers review the growing body of peer-reviewed evidence demonstrating the ability of Decipher to accurately predict disease progression and direct treatment recommendations."

Decipher directly measures the biologic risk of metastatic prostate cancer. By assessing the activity of multiple genomic markers associated with metastatic disease, Decipher provides information about the aggressiveness of a patient's tumor-information distinct from that provided by PSA and other clinical tools, according to GenomeDx.

Researchers recently published a study in the Journal ofUrology showing that Decipher could independently forecast which patients developed metastasis and showed better performance over any clinical variable or prediction model for metastasis (2013; 190:2047-53). The study was partly funded by GenomeDx Biosciences, and several study authors are employees of or consultants for the company.

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