Abstract
In the last decade, non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treatment has improved with
the approval of multiple therapies to target specific genetic alterations. Though,
next generation sequencing (NGS) has traditionally been conducted from tissue biopsy
samples, developing data supports the use of plasma-based circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA),
also known as “liquid biopsy,” to complement tissue biopsy approaches in guiding front-line
therapy. This study is a retrospective analysis of 170 new NSCLC patients treated
at 2 cancer centers within a 5-year period who received both tissue and liquid biopsy
NGS as standard of care. Based on a treatment schema defined by testing sufficiency,
biomarker detection, and turnaround time (TAT), physicians based the majority of their
treatments on liquid biopsy results (73.5%) versus tissue biopsy (25.9%). Liquid biopsy
NGS returned results on average 26.8 days faster than tissue and reported higher testing
success. For guideline-recommended biomarkers, liquid biopsy was 94.8% to 100% concordant
with tissue. In comparing testing modalities, a liquid-first approach identified guideline-recommended
biomarkers in 76.5% of patients versus 54.9% in a tissue-first approach. There was
no significant difference in time-to-treatment, or survival outcomes (overall survival
and progression free survival) based on liquid versus tissue biopsy findings. This
research demonstrates that liquid biopsy NGS is an effective tool to capture actionable
genetic alterations in NSCLC. Due to its high concordance to tissue, faster TAT, and
similarity in outcomes and time-to-treatment, liquid biopsy can be used either as
a first-line test or concordantly with tissue biopsy to guide treatment decisions
in NSCLC.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: November 25, 2022
Accepted:
November 19,
2022
Received in revised form:
November 16,
2022
Received:
July 26,
2022
Identification
Copyright
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