Medicare-eligible cancer patients just got more access to genetic testing according to reuters.com. The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will now pay for some genetic tests in order to help get patients the drugs most likely to benefit them. The coverage means that a patient’s test sample could be screened for all known gene mutations and potential treatments. Results can also be used to determine if a patient is eligible for clinical trials. Several in vitro diagnostic tests are covered and some future tests that gain approval by the Food and Drug Administration will be covered as well. Patients will also be covered for repeat testing of a new primary cancer diagnosis. More information about the coverage and genetic testing for medicare patients can be found here.

Vitamin D may protect against some cancers, reports sciencedaily.com. An international study conducted in Japan that followed more than 30,000 male and female participants for an average of 16 years found that higher levels of vitamin D were related to about a 20 percent reduction in cancer for both men and women. The study also showed a 30 to 50 percent reduction in liver cancer, mostly in men. The authors of the study say their findings support the theory that vitamin D protects against cancer, but they also note that more studies are needed to determine the optimum level of vitamin D to prevent cancer. You can find more details about this promising study here.

A diabetes drug may be able to stop the progression and spread of pancreatic cancer, says medicalnewstoday.com. The study, by Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, is not the first to find metformin as a possible treatment for cancer, but it is the first to pinpoint why. The drug has an effect on the signaling of what is called the REarranged during Transfection (RET) cell and by targeting it with metformin it appears to prevent the progression of pancreatic cancer. The studies on metformin and the treatment of cancer have created interest in also using metformin as a potential in preventing cancer, especially in those who are at high risk. The scientists who conducted the Rutgers study say further studies need to be done to determine exactly how metformin affects RET signaling in pancreatic cancer. Learn more here.

Researchers may have found a better way to predict the effectiveness of drugs in cancer patients, reports cnbc.com. The researchers took biopsies from colorectal cancer patients and created what they are calling microtumors. They then treated the micro tumors with drugs and observed how well they worked. The method proved much faster than the previous method of growing cancer in mice which typically takes six to eight months. The micro tumors grow in six to eight weeks. The microtumor method is also less expensive and was more effective in predicting how well drugs will treat an individual’s cancer. The microtumor option will help doctors prescribe the best drug for their patients and according to the lead doctor of the study, patients are already in trials for the new process. More information about the microtumors and how they will help patients can be found here.