[Determination of tumor biological parameters in breast cancer: round robin testing for quality assurance]. / Bestimmung tumorbiologischer Parameter beim Mammakarzinom: Ringversuche zur Qualitätssicherung.

Round robin testing for quality assurance in the determination of the breast cancer biomarkers estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and epithelial growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) have been carried out in Germany for 13 years. As the first quality assurance trial worldwide tissue microarrays with 20 different breast cancer specimens were used. As a further innovation the challenges were split into a test part representing routine cases and a training part enriched with difficult borderline cases in order to uncover latent weaknesses in the participating laboratories. Certificates are issued based exclusively on the test part. Similar to NordiQC and UKNequas stained slides are assessed externally and the quality of staining and evaluation are considered separately. Since 2010 an additional internet-based trial without assessment of the staining quality is offered for ER and PR. Since the introduction of the round robin trials the numbers of participants (n = 200-250) and the success rates have steadily increased. The breast cancer quality assurance trial ranks first with regard to the number of participants in Germany. It could be demonstrated that regular participation in the round robin test leads to an improvement of staining results of ER, PR and HER2 and hence appears to be mandatory for maintaining quality standards. The use of fully automated immunohistochemical staining procedures has steadily increased and these are now used by approximately 50 % of participants.

Quality assurance trials for Ki67 assessment in pathology.

Ki67 is a broadly used proliferation marker in surgical pathology with an obvious need for standardization to improve reproducibility of assessment. Here, we present results of the so far only existing round robin tests on Ki67, organized annually in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland from 2010 to 2015 with up to 160 participating laboratories (QuIP). In each quality assessment trial, eight probes from each breast cancer, neuroendocrine tumor, and malignant lymphoma were compiled on a tissue microarray (TMA). TMAs were stained in the participants' laboratories with antibodies and procedures also applied in their daily routine. Participating pathologists were expected to assign Ki67 values to one of four different categories for each tumor type. All local stainings and evaluations were reassessed by the organizing panel and compared to a preset standard. On average, 95% of participants reached the benchmark of over 80% concordance rates with the Ki67 category pre-established by the panel. Automatization and type of antibody did not affect the success rate. Concordance rates differed between tumor entities being highest in each tumor type with either very high or very low labeling indices. Lower rates were seen for intermediate Ki67 levels. Staining quality improved during the observation period as did inter-observer concordance with 85% of participants achieving excellent agreement (kappa > 0.8) in the first year and over 95% in 2015. In conclusion, regular external quality assurance trials have been established as a tool to improve the reproducibility and reliability of the prognostic and predictive proliferation marker Ki67.