One of the unfortunate facts about cancer is that it can be in the process of taking over well before you even know you’re sick. If you haven’t received a cancer screening such as a mammogram or a colonoscopy, or if you have one of the dozens of cancer types for which there are no commonly available screenings, cancer can be spreading in the body without you even knowing it. Generations of cancer patients have died too young because their disease was only caught when they started showing symptoms, which is often at stages when treatments are less effective.

Medical science is providing an opportunity to change this deadly paradigm. And if public policy is conducted wisely, Nevadans will soon have a chance to benefit.

The breakthrough development is blood tests that can detect bits of DNA that cancer cells shed in the bloodstream. From a simple draw of blood, physicians can learn if their patients have cancer and where those cancers exist in the body. For example, a study conducted this year of more than 6,600 individuals found that adding multi-cancer early detection (MCED) tests to the typical standard of care more than doubled the number of cancers detected in patients. Further, more than 70 percent of those participants who had cancers detected had variations of the disease for which there are currently no recommended routine screenings. Other studies in the United States and United Kingdom are close to reading out. 

Nevadans have a great deal at stake in the accessibility of these cancer screenings, which are being reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). According to the American Cancer Society, there will be an estimated 18,250 new cancer cases and an estimated 5,440 deaths in Nevada in 2024 alone. This number may be higher than it should be because Nevada ranks lower than other states when it comes to getting recommended cancer screenings.

Early detection can make a profound difference. These new tests can detect dozens of types of cancer compared to the five types for which conventional screenings exist today. Moreover, MCEDs are easily and quickly administered and can be brought to rural parts of the state where residents live far from health centers.

As with so many medical innovations, the question of whether patients benefit from them hinges on whether they are accessible. We know, for example, that persons older than 65 are in the age group with the greatest risk of being afflicted with cancer. And yet, the laws governing Medicare don’t provide coverage of MCED tests. It is expected that a novel development such as this could linger in the federal bureaucracy for many years before it ever becomes available to Medicare beneficiaries.

Members of Congress from the Democratic and Republican camps are trying to prevent that from happening. The Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act (S.2085) /(HR 2407), which has support from the entire Nevada federal delegation, would cut through the red tape and create a pathway for Medicare coverage once the FDA completes its review. Congress has done this previously to allow coverage of mammograms, colonoscopies and other preventative cancer screenings. It’s time to do it again for these new screening tools.

It pains me to know that there are fellow Nevadans who, at this very moment, are having their lives shortened by cancer and don’t even know it. We are witnessing a medical breakthrough that will revolutionize how we detect and treat cancer. Let’s fight to make sure those most in need can access it.

Tom McCoy is the executive director of state government affairs for the Nevada Chronic Care Collaborative. Previously, he was the Nevada director of government relations for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. 

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