Academic and Nonacademic Laboratories Perform Equally on CIQC Immunohistochemistry Proficiency Testing

Objectives: To test whether academic centers (ACs) are more successful than nonacademic centers (NACs) in immunohistochemistry (IHC) external quality assessment challenges in the Canadian Immunohistochemistry Quality Control (CIQC) program. Methods: Results of 9 CIQC challenges for breast cancer marker (BM) and various non–breast cancer marker (NBM) tests were examined. Success rates were compared between AC/NAC laboratories and those located in small or large cities. Performance was also correlated with annual IHC case volumes. Results: There was no statistically significant difference in performance in any of the comparisons. However, overall performance on BM was significantly better ( P < .0001, t test) than on NBM tests regardless of AC/NAC nature or city size. The mean failure rate on NBM was approximately twice that of BM tests. Conclusion: Our results suggest that recent emphasis on breast hormone IHC quality assurance has led to improved test quality.