PanTracer LBx liquid biopsy profiling test receives Medicare coverage

Supportive cancer care is the smart investment our leaders in Washington can’t afford to ignore

In the United States, 18.6 million people are living with cancer, and nearly 40% of Americans will face a cancer diagnosis in their lifetime.

January 30, 2026

Vol.52 No.04

By Les Biller

Cancer Policy

CMS to enter negotiations with drugmakers over the price of four cancer medications

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services is entering negotiations with drugmakers over the price of 15 medications this year. The newly announced list includes four drugs used to treat cancer.

Personalis Real-Time Variant Tracker identifies resistance mutations across several hundred clinically relevant hotspots

Personalis announced the early access launch of Real-Time Variant Tracker, a powerful new option added to its ultrasensitive NeXT Personal molecular residual disease test designed to detect small traces of circulating tumor DNA in the blood that represent residual or recurrent cancer.

January 23, 2026

Vol.52 No.03

Podcast

With five-year cancer survival at an all-time high, does this mean people are living longer?

“It's really, really important that every year since 1991, cancer mortality has dropped by a little bit, and it did again!” said Paul Goldberg, editor and publisher of The Cancer Letter. “Now, mortality is a good metric, age-adjusted mortality. As far as survival, well, that's not so good.”

January 21, 2026

Clinical Health Equity

New Medicaid work requirements could lead to 1.6 million missed cancer screenings over two years

New Medicaid work requirements included in President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” could result in as many as 1.6 million missed screenings for breast, colon, and lung cancers within the first two years, researchers at the University of Chicago reported in a paper published in JAMA Oncology earlier this month.

When “safe and effective” is not “reasonable and necessary”
We can curb excessive drug dosing and improve the quality of cancer care

By law, the Food and Drug Administration is required to determine whether a drug, device, biologic, or medical device is “safe and effective.” But the FDA determination does not control whether the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will pay for it. To satisfy CMS, medical products and services must be “reasonable and necessary,” meaning...

January 16, 2026

Vol.52 No.02

By Mark J. Ratain and David A. Hyman

PanTracer LBx liquid biopsy profiling test receives Medicare coverage

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Supportive cancer care is the smart investment our leaders in Washington can’t afford to ignore

CMS to enter negotiations with drugmakers over the price of four cancer medications

Personalis Real-Time Variant Tracker identifies resistance mutations across several hundred clinically relevant hotspots

With five-year cancer survival at an all-time high, does this mean people are living longer?

New Medicaid work requirements could lead to 1.6 million missed cancer screenings over two years

When “safe and effective” is not “reasonable and necessary”
We can curb excessive drug dosing and improve the quality of cancer care

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PanTracer LBx liquid biopsy profiling test receives Medicare coverage

YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN

Supportive cancer care is the smart investment our leaders in Washington can’t afford to ignore

CMS to enter negotiations with drugmakers over the price of four cancer medications

Personalis Real-Time Variant Tracker identifies resistance mutations across several hundred clinically relevant hotspots

With five-year cancer survival at an all-time high, does this mean people are living longer?

New Medicaid work requirements could lead to 1.6 million missed cancer screenings over two years

When “safe and effective” is not “reasonable and necessary”We can curb excessive drug dosing and improve the quality of cancer care

Never miss an issue!

Login

When “safe and effective” is not “reasonable and necessary”
We can curb excessive drug dosing and improve the quality of cancer care