Spotlight report on molecular testing in advanced lung cancer

Reports | Published: 09 Jan 2020

This spotlight audit is the first national study investigating the efficacy and outcomes of molecular testing in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in England. In total 60 trusts provided data on 1,157 patients.

Some of the key findings include:

  • 83% of patients with advanced adenocarcinoma underwent molecular testing for all three of the recommended predictive biomarkers (EGFR, ALK and PD-L1).
  • 96% of molecular tests were successful in providing adequate results.
  • 11.5% of patients required second biopsies to obtain molecular results. There was an increased likelihood of patients requiring a second sampling technique if the initial attempt was through pleural biopsy or aspiration.
  • The median turnaround time from tissue acquisition to EGFR mutation result was 18 days.
  • First-line targeted therapies were received by 75% of patients following confirmation of an EGFR mutation and 58% of patients with an ALK translocation.

You can download the report here.

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Spotlight report on molecular testing in advanced lung cancer