Despite significant improvements in the perception of biomarker testing compared to a 2018 survey, substantial barriers to implementation persist globally, according to results of the 2024 IASLC Global Survey on Biomarker Testing released today at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) World Conference on Lung Cancer 2024 . The 2018 survey revealed that the adoption of biomarker testing was low due to cost, lack of quality and standards, access, awareness, and long turnaround times. However, since 2018, numerous therapeutic advances have been made in late-stage and early-stage lung cancer, according to Matthew Smeltzer, Ph.
D., of the University of Memphis, Memphis, Tenn. The 2024 survey generated 1,677 responses from 90 countries and 14 medical disciplines and found a positive shift in the perception and frequency of biomarker testing, according to Smeltzer.
The survey was available in English, French, Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese, and Spanish. The survey contained sections on demographics, current practices and perceptions, pathology, ordering tests or treatment, acquiring tissue, barriers to optimal testing, and potential solutions. The researchers grouped responses by IASLC global region and by High/Upper-Middle income countries (HUMIC) and Low/Middle income countries (LMIC).
Smeltzer said that 67% of respondents reported that more than half of lung cancer patients are tested in their country, a significant increase from 39% reported in 2018. D.