Despite significant improvements in the perception of biomarker testing compared with a 2018 survey, substantial barriers to implementation may persist globally, according to new findings presented by Smeltzer et al at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) 2024 World Conference on Lung Cancer (Abstract OA03.03).
Background
The 2018 survey revealed the adoption of biomarker testing may have been low because of cost, a lack of quality and standards, access, awareness, and long turnaround times. However, since 2018, there have been therapeutic advances in the treatment of patients with early-stage and late-stage lung cancer.
Survey Methods and Results
The new 2024 IASLC Global Survey on Biomarker Testing generated 1,677 responses across 90 countries and 14 medical disciplines. The survey—which was available in English, French, Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese, and Spanish—contained sections on demographics, current practices and perceptions, pathology, ordering tests or treatment, acquiring tissue, barriers to optimal testing, and potential solutions. Researchers grouped responses by IASLC global region and by high/upper–middle income countries and low/middle income countries.
The researchers identified a positive shift in the perception and frequency of biomarker testing. For instance, 67% of the respondents reported that over 50% of patients with lung cancer are tested in their country, a significant increase from 39% reported in 2018. Despite the progress, barriers may remain prominent. The respondents cited obstacles to testing such as cost (27.2%), time (13.9%), and sample quality (13.8%). Notably, 43% of the respondents reported treating patients prior to receiving the results of the biomarker testing.
Further, the respondents from high/upper–middle income countries expressed greater health-care system support for biomarker testing compared with those from low/middle income countries, where only 18.6% noted similar support. The survey also revealed that a substantial proportion of biomarker testing costs are only partially reimbursed, and turnaround times for tissue testing average 14 days with no clear consensus on the causes of the delays.
The survey respondents proposed a number of strategies to improve biomarker testing, including enhanced education for health-care providers and patients, streamlined clinical processes through reflex testing, increased funding from both government and insurance sources, and broader policy changes.
Conclusions
“The survey's findings reflect both the progress made and the work still needed to ensure that biomarker testing becomes a standard part of lung cancer care worldwide,” underscored lead study author Matthew Smeltzer, PhD, of the University of Memphis.
The IASLC plans to launch a series of initiatives to address barriers to biomarker testing that will target awareness, access, processes, and policy improvements.
Disclosure: For full disclosures of the study authors, visit cattendee.abstractsonline.com.
