Research this week finds that people with severe cancer weight loss get less benefit from fentanyl pain patches and explores why people with Down Syndrome have less cancer.

In other headlines, shut-down of a Canadian nuclear reactor threatens the supply of medical isotopes used in many cancer tests.  Free drug samples may do more harm than good, and CT colonography finds cancers and other serious conditions outside the colon in about 2 or 3 out of 100 tests.  Finally, we provide a link to a Cancer.Net podcast with information about what to expect from your colonoscopy. Read the rest of this entry »

American Cancer Society Chief Medical Officer Otis W. Brawley, M.D., says that he is disappointed in the decision by the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services not to cover CT colonography screening for elderly Americans on Medicare.

Dr. Brawley points out that randomized clinical trials have shown the CTC option as effective as traditional optical colonoscopy in finding early cancers and precancerous polyps.  He also concerned that there is not a sufficient supply of trained specialists providing colonoscopy to meet the need for screening and that new options are needed.

The American Cancer Society believes, Brawley says, that a full battery of testing for colorectal cancer screening should be available, particularly to the Medicare population who are at higher risk of developing and dying from colorectal cancer. Read the rest of this entry »

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid issued a final National Coverage Decision on May 12, 2009 denying Medicare payments for CT colonography (virtual colonoscopy) to screen for colorectal cancer.

Despite an overwhelming number of comments urging that CMS overturn their provisional determination not to cover the test, the agency remained unconvinced that there was sufficient evidence to conclude that CT colonography was appropriate to screen for colorectal cancer.

Almost 95 percent of 357 comments supported CT colonography screening, including comments from the American Cancer Society and C3:Colorectal Cancer Coalition.

Briefly,

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) concludes the following:

The evidence is inadequate to conclude that CT colonography is an appropriate colorectal cancer screening test under § 1861(pp)(1) of the Social Security Act.  CT colonography for colorectal cancer screening remains noncovered.

A new type of drug was successful in helping patients with cancer cachexia regain muscle and strength, and counting circulating tumor cells helped predict survival for people with advanced colorectal cancer.

Free colonoscopies are available through a Connecticut program, the FDA and FTC warn the public to be wary of websites or ads promising treatments for 2009 H1N1 influenza, and people in remote areas of Arizona were able to have CT colonoscopy screening with teleradiology. Read the rest of this entry »

In response to a proposed national coverage decision by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services not to pay for screening CT colonography (CTC) for Medicare enrollees, C3 has submitted comments asking that CMS cover screening CT colonography (virtual colonoscopy) as part of a Coverage with Evidence Development (CED) process.

A CED would enable CMS to determine if CT colonography is safe and effective in the older Medicare population and which patients might benefit from screening using CTC rather than optical colonoscopy.

We believe that older patients should have a choice for colorectal cancer screening methods after a discussion of the risks and benefits of each method with their doctors.  And we want good information available for those patient decisions.  Read the rest of this entry »