The reimbursement system for pathological examinations in South Korea has poor coordination with cancer treatment plans, resulting in many patients not receiving timely treatment. Therefore, South Korea’s reimbursement system needs to be revised to fairly cover changes in pathology tests and subsequent treatment, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

GlobalData’s research reveals that the oncology tests market in South Korea is s,et to grow at a compound annual growth rate of approximately 2% between 2022 and 2030, driven by an increasing incidence of cancer and the subsequent development of immunotherapy.

Kuljot Kaur, Medical Devices Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Currently, the timeline to set the cost of a pathology investigation is longer than the time for drug reimbursement decisions in South Korea and so a rational approach is needed to coordinate these decisions.”

Companion diagnostic assays are essential for the safe and effective administration of therapies requiring pathology tests and receiving level II fees, while complementary diagnostics give insights into the risk/benefit ratio without restricting drug access and receiving level I fee which is lower than level II fees.

Depending on the presence of specific markers, targeted immunotherapies are administered to the patient, resulting in therapeutic benefit. For example, before immunotherapy, the presence or absence of PD-L1 (immune checkpoint inhibitor) expression on cancer cells is quantified by pathologists, which greatly influences treatment planning.

Kaur concludes: “Policies pertaining to the review period for cancer pathological examination charges should be revised while determining the scope of drug reimbursement so that patients do not miss out on timely life-saving treatments.”