Pathology and Oncology Research (Jan 2023)

FACILITATE: A real-world, multicenter, prospective study investigating the utility of a rapid, fully automated real-time PCR assay versus local reference methods for detecting epidermal growth factor receptor variants in NSCLC

  • Anke Behnke,
  • Anne Cayre,
  • Giovanna De Maglio,
  • Giuseppe Giannini,
  • Lionel Habran,
  • Marina Tarsitano,
  • Massimiliano Chetta,
  • David Cappellen,
  • Alexandra Lespagnol,
  • Cecile Le Naoures,
  • Gabriella Massazza,
  • Annarita Destro,
  • Irina Bonzheim,
  • Achim Rau,
  • Achim Battmann,
  • Bettina Kah,
  • Emmanuel Watkin,
  • Michael Hummel

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/pore.2023.1610707
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 29

Abstract

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Accurate testing for epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) variants is essential for informing treatment decisions in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Automated diagnostic workflows may allow more streamlined initiation of targeted treatments, where appropriate, while comprehensive variant analysis is ongoing. FACILITATE, a real-world, prospective, multicenter, European study, evaluated performance and analytical turnaround time of the Idylla™ EGFR Mutation Test compared with local reference methods. Sixteen sites obtained formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded biopsy samples with ≥ 10% neoplastic cells from patients with NSCLC. Consecutive 5 μm sections from patient samples were tested for clinically relevant NSCLC-associated EGFR variants using the Idylla™ EGFR Mutation Test and local reference methods; performance (concordance) and analytical turnaround time were compared. Between January 2019 and November 2020, 1,474 parallel analyses were conducted. Overall percentage agreement was 97.7% [n = 1,418; 95% confidence interval (CI): 96.8–98.3], positive agreement, 87.4% (n = 182; 95% CI: 81.8–91.4) and negative agreement, 99.2% (n = 1,236; 95% CI: 98.5–99.6). There were 38 (2.6%) discordant cases. Ninety percent of results were returned with an analytical turnaround time of within 1 week using the Idylla™ EGFR Mutation Test versus ∼22 days using reference methods. The Idylla™ EGFR Mutation Test performed well versus local methods and had shorter analytical turnaround time. The Idylla™ EGFR Mutation Test can thus support application of personalized medicine in NSCLC.

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