Variation in EGFR testing for patients with stage IB or higher lung cancer in the United States

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

AIM: Current guidelines recommend that all patients with stage IB or higher lung adenocarcinoma undergo Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) testing. In this study, we investigate the hospital-level variation of EGFR testing nationally. METHODS: We identified patients with stage IB or higher lung adenocarcinoma between 2021-2022 from a national hospital-based dataset. We used hierarchical multivariable regression modeling to adjust for patient-, tumor- and hospital-characteristics and calculate adjusted EGFR testing rates. We grouped hospitals into quintiles for comparison, and Kaplan-Meier analyses to estimate survival. CONCLUSION: Contrary to current guidelines, most patients with stage IB adenocarcinoma or higher are not receiving EGFR testing. Patients treated at hospitals with higher testing rates were associated with better survival, although this is likely multifactorial. Quality improvement efforts should target centers for guideline-concordant care.