Clinical Practice Guidelines for Pleural Effusion and Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid-Based Circulating Tumor DNA Testing in Lung Cancer

Background

Pleural effusion (PE) and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) are increasingly investigated as alternative sources of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) for lung cancer molecular testing. As specimen-collection sites are close to thoracic tumors, specimens may contain clinically informative concentrations of tumor-derived DNA. However, standardized recommendations for PE/BALF-based ctDNA testing remain limited; practical, consensus-based recommendations for this testing in lung cancer were developed.