AUSTIN – Yesterday, the Texas House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 989 to increase access to biomarker testing, which can help determine the best treatment plan for each patient, a press release states.
The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) is sponsoring this significant policy change to ensure cancer patients have access to precision medicine.
Dubbed ‘the right treatment at the right time,’ precision medicine has played a critical role in improving cancer outcomes. For example, patients with certain lung cancer types who received biomarker testing and targeted therapy had a 31% reduction in mortality. But to determine if a patient will benefit from certain targeted therapies, doctors must test for specific biomarkers – such as gene mutations – found in blood, tissues, or other biospecimens that provide insight into their disease.
“ACS CAN thanks Sen. Joan Huffman and State Rep. Greg Bonnen for their leadership on biomarker testing legislation and asks Gov. Greg Abbott to sign this bill into law as soon as possible so it can bring the hope and promise of precision medicine to more Texans,” said James Gray, Texas government relations director for ACS CAN. “It’s time for us to make the future of modern medicine accessible to more Texans.”
For more information on precision medicine, cancer biomarkers, current barriers to biomarker testing, and ACS CAN’s policy recommendations, visit www.fightcancer.org/biomarkers.