Healthy Taiwan: Reducing Cancer Mortality by One-third by 2030
In 2024, the Executive Yuan approved a multi-billion-dollar new cancer drug fund, with NT$5 billion injected into the National Health Insurance Fund from the public budget in 2025, gradually scaling up to NT$10 billion in the future. It is hoped that increased national budget investment in cancer treatment, along with patient cost-sharing mechanisms, will enhance the financial resources for reimbursing liquid biopsy for cancer drug companion diagnostics. These efforts aim to provide affordable genetic testing and more precise targeted cancer treatment options, contributing significantly to the realization of President Lai’s Healthy Taiwan initiative, which targets reducing cancer mortality in Taiwan by 2030.
Accurate genetic testing and targeted therapies are crucial for reducing cancer mortality rates. Patients benefit from health insurance coverage that reimburses tissue-based NGS testing and targeted drugs like osimertinib, which require accompanying tissue-based genetic test reports. As technology advances, liquid biopsy technology, using blood tests to analyze circulating tumor DNA for genetic mutations and other tumor information, has become well developed and adopted in clinical practice in Taiwan.
Liquid biopsy offers an essential alternative for patients unable to undergo tissue biopsies due to difficult tumor positioning or high biopsy risks. It analyzes cell-free DNA in blood samples, detecting genomic and epigenomic alterations to guide personalized treatment and monitor tumor evolution. The accuracy of genetic mutation detection through liquid biopsy is consistent with tissue samples, and its therapeutic efficacy is comparable. However, the current National Health Insurance (NHI) reimbursement policies for drugs only accept genetic testing reports derived from tissue samples, and NGS testing does not include liquid biopsy, leaving patients with unmet medical needs.
Given both international and Taiwan research demonstrating the clinical and economic benefits of liquid biopsy and expanding coverage, many large medical institutions see the complementary use of liquid biopsy and tissue samples as a trend. Therefore, Taiwan experts recommend that NHI reimbursement for cancer drugs and genetic testing be expanded to include coverage for liquid biopsy, particularly for late-stage cancer patients and those unsuitable for tissue biopsies.
The Future of Precision Cancer Therapy: NGS Liquid Biopsy Development Trends and Prospects
