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

TITLE=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

JOURNAL=Pathology and Oncology Research

VOLUME=29

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.por-journal.com/journals/pathology-and-oncology-research/articles/10.3389/pore.2023.1610707

DOI=10.3389/pore.2023.1610707

ISSN=1532-2807

ABSTRACT=<p>Accurate testing for epidermal growth factor receptor (<italic>EGFR</italic>) 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 <italic>EGFR</italic> 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% [<italic>n</italic> = 1,418; 95% confidence interval (CI): 96.8–98.3], positive agreement, 87.4% (<italic>n</italic> = 182; 95% CI: 81.8–91.4) and negative agreement, 99.2% (<italic>n</italic> = 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.</p>