Making genomic tests reimbursable, and therefore accessible without discrimination, for all patients with hormone-sensitive initial breast cancer (HR + and HER2-), could avoid unnecessary chemotherapy for many women: up to 800 a year only in the Piedmont region. A large number that conceals patient stories. At the moment, however, only Lombardy, Tuscany, Valle d’Aosta e Autonomous Province of Bolzano approved its reimbursement.
Unacceptable territorial disparities
“The purchase of these tests was funded nationally at the end of 2020 but the implementing decrees have not yet been issued”, recalled the specialists of the Italian Association of Medical Oncology (Aiom) during an online event (stage of a virtual tour that includes eight regional meetings, carried out with the unconditional support of Exact Sciences, to raise awareness among oncologists on the role of genomic tests in breast cancer). “Our scientific society has been at the forefront of this battle that we believe to be of fundamental importance for months,” he said Massimo Di Maio, National Secretary Aiom and Director of Oncology of the Mauriziano Hospital, University of Turin: “Italy has fallen behind in the use of genomic tests which, on the other hand, are already a consolidated reality in many European countries. In particular, we are convinced that territorial disparities must be avoided and access to these tests guaranteed to all patients. We are therefore promoting specific initiatives throughout the country and we hope that the institutions will intervene as soon as possible to unblock the situation with specific measures “.
Breast cancer in Piedmont
Breast cancer in Piedmont generates 4,450 new cases every year. “It is not always necessary to administer chemotherapy after surgery to avoid a possible reappearance of breast cancer”, adds Alessandra Gennari, Professor of Medical Oncology at the Department of Translational Medicine of the University of Eastern Piedmont and Director of the Oncology Department of the ‘Maggiore Hospital of Charity in Novara: “There is a subpopulation of patients at intermediate risk who are located in a’ gray area ‘. Precisely for these women it is necessary to resort to genomic tests that allow to verify the appropriateness of a treatment that determines considerable side effects. Furthermore, important savings are also obtained for the entire regional health system ”.
More than 64,000 women with cancer live in the Region and five-year survival is 88%. “As in the rest of Italy, mortality has been steadily decreasing since the mid-1980s and this is mainly due to the introduction of screening programs”, concludes Rosella Spadi, Coordinator of AIOM Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta: “Merit of this success is also to be found in innovative anti-cancer treatments that are more effective than ever before. Thanks to research, therapies today are more personalized and tailored to the individual patient. Genomic tests favor precision medicine against a very frequent and widespread neoplasm such as breast cancer. Precisely for this reason we ask to be able to use them regularly also in our Region ”.