RESUMO
CONTEXT.: Biomarkers in breast cancer need strict monitoring given their role in patient management. OBJECTIVE.: To study the impact that regular participation in the National Cancer Grid (NCG) external quality assurance (EQA) system has on concordance rates for biomarkers in breast carcinoma. DESIGN.: Tissue microarrays (TMAs) containing breast carcinomas were circulated to participating laboratories that performed immunohistochemistry for breast biomarkers. The returned TMAs were then assessed for test concordance. RESULTS.: A total of 105 laboratories participated in the estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) EQA system cycles, and 99 centers participated in the human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2) EQA system. In the ER EQA in the first cycle only 1 laboratory had a 100% concordance rate, which improved to 59 of 77 (76.6%) and 85 of 97 (87.6%) in the fourth and fifth cycles, respectively. In the PR EQA the 100% pass rate jumped from zero to 52 of 76 (68.4%) in the fourth cycle and 86 of 97 (88.6%) in the last cycle. For HER2 EQA, the 100% pass rates were seen in 7 of 23 laboratories (30.4%) in the first cycle, 49 of 78 laboratories (62.8%) in the fourth cycle, and 48 of 94 laboratories (51.1%) in fifth cycle of EQA. Centers that participated in the NCG EQA system for a longer period often changed testing methodology, with consequent improvement in their laboratory concordance rates. An increasing trend for the use of automated platforms and of the US Food and Drug Administration-approved antibody for HER2 testing was observed. CONCLUSIONS.: Our experience demonstrates that laboratory performance improves with participation in an EQA system even in less perfect settings, and this drives the placement of more proficient practices across the country.