Tchibo sells questionable insurance with cancer blood test

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The advertising for HanseMerkur’s “Krebs-Scan” insurance has been running for a while. The coffee roaster Tchibo is luring those who take out insurance by July 24 with a shopping voucher worth 15 euros. The “NDR” and the “Bayerischer Rundfunk” reported on this.

Experts from the German Cancer Society rate the basis for the blood test recommended in the policy as very questionable. The “Stiftung Warentest” has also taken a close look at the supplementary insurance.

What is the “cancer scan” debate about?

A key component of the Cancer Scan Police is the annual blood test called PanTum Detect. This should be able to detect cancer at an early stage. If the test delivers a conspicuous result, subsequent examinations with positron emission tomography, PET/CT for short, are included. In addition, cancer patients receive additional benefits such as a single or double room in the hospital and treatment by the chief physician.

The concrete costs, however, are difficult to see through, criticizes the “Stiftung Warentest”. In addition, the central association of statutory health insurance companies is not aware of any studies that prove that the blood test offers better early detection than the methods currently used.

The company Zyagnum AG from Darmstadt, which developed the test, explained to the “NDR” in a written statement that with PanTum Detect it is possible to detect cancer earlier and added literally: “Therefore we do not doubt that with cancer scan Lives are saved.” The effectiveness of the test has been proven in more than 60 publications, the company explains. One of them was supplied by the University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE).

Study by the University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf as the basis for “cancer scan”

The “Cancer Scan” insurance package from HanseMerkur is based on this UKE publication. In a written reply to Bayerischer Rundfunk, the insurer explained: “However, we were particularly impressed by the independent study by the University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf under the direction of Prof. Dr. Smeets with more than 5000 asymptomatic patients (from May 2022) convinced that cancer scan can contribute to closing the gap in current early detection.”

What do the experts say about the blood test?

The “NDR” asked the German Cancer Society about the blood test for cancer. The study did not meet basic scientific standards, judged Jutta Huebner. The medical professor at the University of Jena heads the working group on prevention and integrative oncology in the cancer society. Above all, the study provides no evidence that people whose blood test has a positive result can therefore be better treated or even cured.

Her radical verdict on the UKE study: “It’s charlatanry.” Because in the eyes of the medical professor, a product is being marketed “without proof of effectiveness, of a positive result”.

Other critical voices:

Eva Grillprofessor of epidemiology at Munich’s Ludwig-Maximilians-University: “significant methodological deficiencies” in the study
Constantin LapaHead of Nuclear Medicine at the University Hospital in Augsburg: “It’s all completely inconsistent and, in my opinion, incomprehensible from the data that is being presented.”
Michael NeumaierHead of Clinical Chemistry at the University of Mannheim, used to be the head of the German Society for Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine and, at the European level, head of the European Federation for Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine: “There is no clear evidence that the PanTum -Detect-Test really brings something to patients.”
Neumeier also criticizes the fact that the test for cancer is marketed via Tchibo with a shopping voucher: “Here, people with health concerns directly become consumers of health screening, the value of which has not been adequately proven in a single scientific study to date.”

It is also problematic that the UKE study on the cancer blood test included patients between the ages of 50 and 70. However, HanseMerkur and Tchibo advertise their “cancer scan” from the age of 18. This includes an age group in which cancer is generally much less common than from the age of 50.

Blood test study is not independent

According to the insurance company HanseMerkur, the UKE study is “independent”. But the “NDR” research shows: Zyagnum AG, the manufacturer of the cancer blood test PanTum Detect, financed it, which the company confirms – albeit without naming the exact amount of external financing. The University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf did not provide any information.

In addition, there was initially no corresponding reference to the cash flow in the publication. This was only added after the research of the “Bayerischer Rundfunk”, 14 months after the first publication of the study.

The University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf did not answer inquiries on the subject. Because an internal review of the processes surrounding the UKE study was initiated, which plays an important role in the “Cancer Scan” insurance package. The instructions from the BR are taken “very seriously”. Zyagnum AG has not commented on why the reference to the financial conflicts of interest was missing.

Conclusion on the blood test for the early detection of cancer

The insurance package is therefore based on a study purchased from the manufacturer, the benefit of the blood test has not been proven and the “cancer scan” is relatively expensive. The “Stiftung Warentest” also points out: “The number of partner companies that carry out the test and any follow-up examinations is limited. Insured persons must allow for travel times, especially in rural areas.” At selected medical practices, self-payers could also carry out the test without “cancer scan” insurance.

The conclusion of the “Stiftung Warentest” is therefore: “Dispensable” and calls the insurance company HanseMerkus a “sickness supplement with a catch”. Around 330 euros a year (from the age of 70 even 540 euros) is a lot of money for a policy that only covers a single explicit risk.

Which cancer screening makes sense

Regardless of the insurance marketed, early detection of cancer makes sense. In fact, cancer can be prevented before it develops – in the case of colon cancer, cervical cancer and some forms of skin cancer. If the precursors of cancer are recognized and removed directly, the diseased cells cannot grow any further. And for all types of cancer, the chances of recovery are better the earlier they are detected and treated.

Therefore, one of the anti-cancer rules is: Prevention – and numerous check-ups are paid for by the statutory health insurance companies, mostly depending on age. Here is an overview of the most important early detection tests:

Cancer check from the age of 20

For women

Once a year, health insurance pays for a genital examination for the early detection of cancer.

Cancer check from the age of 30 or 35

For women

breast cancer: From the age of 30, the health insurance companies pay for breast and armpit examinations once a year. It is also important for women to regularly examine their breasts themselves. In this way, they can identify nodules as early stages of cancer.

Cervical cancer: Since 2020, women over the age of 35 have only had the smear test (Pap test) every three years, combined with an HPV test. This detects human papilloma viruses, which are considered the main trigger for cervical cancer.

For women and men

skin cancer: From the age of 35, people with statutory health insurance are entitled to a skin cancer check every two years. The dermatologist specifically asks about skin changes, examines the entire body including the hairy head and assesses moles.

Doctors often have to pay extra for special microscopes (such as reflected light microscopes) for an even more precise analysis.

Cancer check from the age of 45

For men

prostate cancer: From the age of 45, the health insurance companies pay for the examination of the prostate from the rectum once a year, as well as the examination of the external genitals and examination of the lymph nodes in the groin.

Cancer check from the age of 50

For women:

breast cancer (from 50 to 69 years): For the early detection of breast cancer, you will receive an invitation to a mammography screening every two years.

colon cancer: For the early detection of colorectal cancer there is an annual test for hidden (occult) blood in the stool.

For men

colon cancer: Early detection of colorectal cancer – between the ages of 50 and 54 either as an annual test for hidden blood in the stool or from the age of 50 through two colonoscopies at least ten years apart.

Cancer check from the age of 55

For women:

colon cancer: From the age of 55 you are entitled to two colonoscopies ten years apart or every two years as a test for hidden blood in the stool.