NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Belgian molecular diagnostics developer MDxHealth announced today that it has received a positive medical policy decision from Cigna for its ConfirmMDx prostate cancer test.
Cigna's decision follows the test's recent inclusion in the US 2016 National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Guidelines for prostate cancer screening. "Tests that improve specificity in the post-biopsy state — including 4Kscore, PHI, percent free PSA, PCA3, and ConfirmMDx — should be considered in patients thought to be higher risk despite a negative prostate biopsy," the NCCN guidelines now say.
ConfirmMDx is an epigenetic tissue-based test for the early detection of prostate cancer, specifically aimed at addressing false-negative biopsy concerns. Nearly 2,800 urologists have ordered the test to date, MDxHealth added, and it has qualified for Medicare, Medicare Advantage, and other private reimbursement plans.
"Cigna's positive medical policy is another major milestone for our ConfirmMDx for Prostate Cancer test," said MDxHealth CEO Jan Groen in a statement. "We are seeing increasing recognition and adoption of ConfirmMDx to improve patient outcomes and manage rising healthcare costs among the urology and managed care communities."
In June, the company announced that ConfirmMDx would be covered by Michigan-based health plan Priority Health for all of its nearly 720,000 members.