Table 1.
Consensus statement of the Korean Cardiopulmonary Pathology Study Group
| 1. Which genes should be tested in non-small cell lung cancer patients in Korea? |
| EGFR, ALK, ROS1, and BRAF tests must be performed. NTRK, MET, RET, HER2, and KRAS tests are recommended when the results of EGFR, ALK, ROS1, and BRAF tests are negative or as part of broad testing panels. |
| 2. Which testing method should be used? |
| Pathologists should use appropriate testing methods approved by Ministry of Food and Drug Safety for biomarker test. |
| 3. Which samples can be used for molecular testing? |
| Any adequate tissue and cytology samples are acceptable for molecular testing. Liquid biopsy can be used when tissue is insufficient or not available for EGFR mutation test. If plasma test is negative, tissue biopsy is recommended. |
| 4. What samples are adequate for molecular testing? |
| The minimum tumor cell content for proper analysis should be determined according to the analytic sensitivity of the testing method. Pathologist should pay attention to maximizing tumor cell content and the quality of nucleic acids for proper analysis. |
| 5. Which patients should be tested? |
| Molecular testing for targetable alterations should be performed in all patients with non-small cell lung cancer. |
| 6. How should the results be reported? |
| Reporting should follow the quality control guidance of the Korean Society of Pathologists and the Korean Institute of Genetic Testing Evaluations. |
| 7. How should quality control be performed? |
| Internal and external quality control programs should be regularly implemented in accordance with the regulations of the Korean Society of Pathologists and the Korean Institute of Genetic Testing Evaluations. |
EGFR, epidermal growth factor receptor; ALK, anaplastic lymphoma kinase; ROS1, ros proto-oncogene 1 receptor tyrosine kinase; BRAF, serine/threonineprotein kinase B-raf; NTRK, neurotrophic tyrosine receptor kinase; MET, mesenchymal epithelial transition; RET, rearranged during transfection; HER2, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2; KRAS, kirsten rat sarcoma virus.