Predictive molecular pathology in the time of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Europe

Malapelle, Umberto; Pisapia, Pasquale; Iaccarino, Antonino; Barberis, Massimo; Bellevicine, Claudio; Brunnström, Hans; de Biase, Dario; De Maglio, Giovanna; Ericson Lindquist, Kajsa; Fassan, Matteo; Fontanini, Gabriella; Gruppioni, Elisa; Hofman, Paul; Merkelbach-Bruse, Sabine; Molina Vila, Miguel A; Pujals, Anaïs; Rapa, Ida; Righi, Luisella; Rosell, Rafael; Schildgen, Oliver; Schildgen, Verena; Schmitt, Fernando C; Tallini, Giovanni; Vander Borght, Sara; Vigliar, Elena; Volante, Marco; Wagener-Ryczek, Svenja; Weynand, Birgit; Troncone, Giancarlo

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.