The health ministry decided on Wednesday that genetic tests to help cancer patients identify the best drugs and therapies for their treatment will be covered by the public health insurance system.
Insurance coverage for genomic testing starting Saturday will be applied to patients who have not responded to conventional cancer treatment. Patients will only have to pay 10 to 30 percent of the fees, which would otherwise cost several hundred thousand yen.
The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry approved in December the marketing of cancer genome profiling systems that detect gene mutations in cancer patients by analyzing their tumor tissue.