Could molecular pathology testing in lung cancer be more cost-effective?

Aims: EGFR and ALK analysis is routinely undertaken prior to targeted treatment of non-squamous non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). Increasingly, limited resources require molecular pathology services to be cost-effective without detriment to patient care.

Methods: Data from an audit of molecular pathology testing in the South East Scotland Cancer Network (SCAN) network have been used to explore different testing strategies with the aim of reducing costs; including investigation of thyroid transcription factor 1 (TTF1) expression as a negative predictor for EGFR mutations.