Medicare to Cover Castle Bio’s Cutaneous Melanoma Test

Source: Genome Web, November 2018

NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Medicare contractor Palmetto GBA on Thursday issued a final local coverage determination for Castle Biosciences’ DecisionDx-Melanoma assay, a prognostic test for cutaneous melanoma that helps guide use of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB).

The LCD extends coverage of the assay for SLNB-eligible patients with T1 and T2 cutaneous melanoma tumors, as well as patients with clinically negative sentinel node basins who are being considered for SLNB to determine eligibility for adjuvant therapy.

The final LCD takes effect on Dec. 3, 2018, at which time Medicare beneficiaries will have improved access to the assay to help guide the use of SLNB within patient-specific management plans.