We hear about tumor sequencing being an important and useful tool in cancer treatment, but who is actually using it in their day-to-day practice? This story answers that question and reveals that currently, tumor sequencing is largely conducted at major cancer centers and research hospitals. Furthermore, this article also explains that the reason only these major centers are performing tumor sequencing tests is because financing the technique is problematic. Insurance companies don’t yet reimburse sequencing for most cancers because there aren’t many published studies that show the efficacy of tumor sequencing. Bigger centers have endowments and private donations that allow for their patients to be financially covered. For many patients with rare or unresponsive cancers who do not live near a major cancer center, the lack of insurance reimbursement proves a major disadvantage. Few other articles that have discussed the promises of tumor sequencing have also investigated the challenges of paying for it, so this piece is unique in that regard. The piece not only emphasizes the potential tumor sequencing has as a diagnostic method but also outlines the challenges in obtaining FDA approval for new diagnostics prior to having insurance companies reimburse the associated costs.
