The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) is reconsidering the national coverage determination (NCD) on PET, based on a formal request from the National Oncologic PET Registry (NOPR).

The NOPR has requested CMS remove the current prospective data collection requirements as required for FDG-PET used in the diagnosis, staging, restaging and monitoring response to treatment for brain, cervical, ovarian, pancreatic, small cell lung and testicular cancers, as well as for cancer indications not previously specified in section 220.6 of the National Coverage Determination Manual.

The public comment period will be open until May 10.

PET facilities participating in the NOPR are encouraged to provide comments to CMS indicating the efficacy of PET for patient care via the CMS online tracking sheet. In addition, it is strongly encouraged that PET facilities ask that referring physicians who commonly use PET in their care of patients with currently non-covered cancers submit comments, according to the NOPR.

The NOPR was launched in May 2006 in response to the CMS policy, Coverage with Evidence Development, to collect data through a clinical registry to inform the center’s FDG-PET coverage determination decisions for currently non-covered cancer indications.