Predictive molecular pathology in the time of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Europe
Umberto Malapelle, Pasquale Pisapia, Antonino Iaccarino, Massimo Barberis, Claudio Bellevicine, Hans Brunnström, Dario de Biase, Giovanna De Maglio, Kajsa Ericson Lindquist, Matteo Fassan, Gabriella Fontanini, Elisa Gruppioni, Paul Hofman, Sabine Merkelbach‐Bruse, Miguel Ángel Molina Vila, Anaïs Pujals, Ida Rapa, Luisella Righi, Rafael Rosell, Oliver Schildgen, Verena Schildgen, Fernando Schmitt, Giovanni Tallini, Sara Vander Borght, Elena Vigliar, Marco Volante, Svenja Wagener‐Ryczek, Birgit Weynand, Giancarlo Troncone
Abstract
AIMS: Lung cancer predictive biomarker testing is essential to select advanced-stage patients for targeted treatments and should be carried out without delays even during health emergencies, such as the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. METHODS: Fifteen molecular laboratories from seven different European countries compared 4 weeks of national lockdown to a corresponding period in 2019, in terms of tissue and/or plasma-based molecular test workload, analytical platforms adopted, number of cases undergoing programmed death-ligand1 (PD-L1) expression assessment and DNA-based molecular tests turnaround time. RESULTS: In most laboratories (80.0%), tissue-based molecular test workload was reduced. In 40.0% of laboratories (6/15), the decrease was >25%, and in one, reduction was as high as 80.0%. In this instance, a concomitant increase in liquid biopsy was reported (60.0%). Remarkably, in 33.3% of the laboratories, real-time PCR (RT-PCR)-based methodologies increased, whereas highly multiplexing assays approaches decreased. Most laboratories (88.9%) did not report significant variations in PD-L1 volume testing. CONCLUSIONS: The workload of molecular testing for patients with advanced-stage lung cancer during the lockdown showed little variations. Local strategies to overcome health emergency-related issues included the preference for RT-PCR tissue-based testing methodologies and, occasionally, for liquid biopsy.