Japan needs to prepare so the broadest number of people will benefit from its recent implementation of testing for personalized cancer treatments, the Japan News writes in an editorial.
It notes that the national health insurance system there has begun to cover genomic testing for some cancer patients to try to uncover treatments that might better work for them based on their mutational patterns. Initially, the Japan News notes, these tests will be limited to patients who have undergone convention treatments to no avail. The Japan Times reported last month that testing without coverage costs about ¥560,000 ($5,100), but that with coverage, the cost to patients would be about 10 percent to 30 percent of that.
The Japan News says that more than 150 centers in Japan can offer genomic testing and that the country needs to ensure that more doctors are being trained in this specialty. In addition, its says cooperation among universities, pharmaceutical companies, and others will be needed as anonymized data is collected from these patients in order to then develop new treatment approaches.
"The path to new treatments for cancer patients needs to be opened wide," it writes.