Gaining the acceptance of insurers and payors for new tests and testing technology is a perennial challenge for laboratories and test developers. This has been especially true with liquid biopsy cancer testing, for which positive coverage determinations have been few and typically restricted to particular types of cancer. However, a new study suggests that payor attitudes have changed significantly in recent years. Here is a look at the progress that has been made and the obstacles that laboratories and test makers must still be overcome to maximize coverage of liquid biopsy cancer testing. The Diagnostic Challenge Blood-based circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) sequencing tests, often referred to as “liquid biopsy tests,” are used to select targeted cancer therapy and monitor nonresponding or progressive tumors. Although somatic (tumor) testing is usually performed on resected biopsy specimens, ctDNA tests can be used at the time of a cancer diagnosis to identify genomic alterations that may be effectively treated using targeted therapies. ctDNA tests are frequently used after a patient experiences disease progression on targeted therapy to determine the mechanism of therapeutic resistance, as well as after definitive therapy to detect recurrence. Utilization of ctDNA tests has increased rapidly since 2014 when Guardant Health […]