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Background: The discovery of a "serrated neoplasia pathway" has highlighted the role of hyperplastic lesions of the colon as the significant precursor of colorectal adenocarcinoma. In mice, hyperplasia of the colonic mucosa is a regular phenomenon after a challenge with colonic carcinogens indicating that mucosal hyperproliferation and thickening, even without cytological dysplasia, represents an early pre-malignant change. Cyclophilin C-associated protein (CyCAP) has been described to down-modulate endotoxin signaling in colorectal murine mucosa and is a murine orthologue of the tumor-associated antigen 90 K (TAA90K)/mac-2-binding protein.Methods: Female Balb/c wild-type (WT) and CyCAP knock-out (KO) mice (6-8 weeks old) were administered 2 or 6 weekly subcutaneous injections of azoxymethane. The animals were evaluated post-injection at six weeks for aberrant crypt foci (ACF) study and at five months for colon tumor measurement. The thickness of the colon crypts was measured in microns and the number of colonocytes per crypt was also determined in well-oriented crypts. Morphometric analyses of the colon mucosa were also performed in untreated 6-8 weeks old KO and WT animals. Formalin-fixed/paraffin-embedded colon sections were also studied by immunohistochemistry to determine the Ki-67 proliferation fraction of the colon mucosa, beta-catenin cellular localization, cyclin D1, c-myc, and lysozyme in Paneth cells.Results: Cyclophilin C-associated protein (CyCAP)-/- mice, spontaneously developed colonic mucosal hyperplasia early in life compared to wild-type mice (WT) (p < 0.0001, T-test) and crypts of colonic mucosa of the (CyCAP)-/- mice show higher proliferation rate (p = 0.039, Mann-Whitney Test) and larger number of cyclin D1-positive cells (p < 0.0001, Mann-Whitney Test). Proliferation fraction and cyclin D1 expression showed positive linear association (p = 0.019, Linear-by-Linear Association). The hyperplasia was even more pronounced in CyCAP-/- mice than in WT after challenge with azoxymethane (p = 0.005, T-test). The length of the crypts (r = 0.723, p = 0.018, Spearman Correlation) and the number of colonocytes per crypt (r = 0.863, p = 0.001, Spearman Correlation) in non-tumorous areas were positively associated with azoxymethane-induced number of tumors. CyCAP-/- developed larger numbers of tumors than WT animals (p = 0.003, T-Test) as well as overall larger tumor mass (p = 0.016, T-Test). Membranous beta-catenin was focally overexpressed in KO mice including proliferative zone of the crypts.Conclusion: CyCAP-/- represent the first described model of spontaneous colonic mucosal hyperplasia. We conclude that CyCAP-deficient mice spontaneously and after challenge with carcinogen develop significantly more colorectal mucosal hyperplasia, an early stage in murine colonic carcinogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New therapies are being developed for breast cancer, and in this process, some "old" biomarkers are reutilized and given a new purpose. It is not always recognized that by changing a biomarker's intended use, a new biomarker assay is created. The Ki-67 biomarker is typically assessed by immunohistochemistry (IHC) to provide a proliferative index in breast cancer. Canadian laboratories assessed the analytical performance and diagnostic accuracy of their Ki-67 IHC laboratory-developed tests (LDTs) of relevance for the LDTs' clinical utility. Canadian clinical IHC laboratories enrolled in the Canadian Biomarker Quality Assurance Pilot Run for Ki-67 in breast cancer by invitation. The Dako Ki-67 IHC pharmDx assay was employed as a study reference assay. The Dako central laboratory was the reference laboratory. Participants received unstained slides of breast cancer tissue microarrays with 32 cases and performed their in-house Ki-67 assays. The results were assessed using QuPath, an open-source software application for bioimage analysis. Positive percent agreement (PPA, sensitivity) and negative percent agreement (NPA, specificity) were calculated against the Dako Ki-67 IHC pharmDx assay for 5%, 10%, 20%, and 30% cutoffs. Overall, PPA and NPA varied depending on the selected cutoff; participants were more successful with 5% and 10%, than with 20% and 30% cutoffs. Only 4 of 16 laboratories had robust IHC protocols with acceptable PPA for all cutoffs. The lowest PPA for the 5% cutoff was 85%, for 10% was 63%, for 20% was 14%, and for 30% was 13%. The lowest NPA for the 5% cutoff was 50%, for 10% was 33%, for 20% was 50%, and for 30% was 57%. Despite many years of international efforts to standardize IHC testing for Ki-67 in breast cancer, our results indicate that Canadian clinical LDTs have a wide analytical sensitivity range and poor agreement for 20% and 30% cutoffs. The poor agreement was not due to the readout but rather due to IHC protocol conditions. International Ki-67 in Breast Cancer Working Group (IKWG) recommendations related to Ki-67 IHC standardization cannot take full effect without reliable fit-for-purpose reference materials that are required for the initial assay calibration, assay performance monitoring, and proficiency testing., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Viral infections, including those caused by COVID-19, can produce striking morphologic changes in peripheral blood. Distinguishing between reactive changes and abnormal morphology of monocytes remains particularly difficult, with low consensus rates reported amongst hematopathologists. Here, we report a patient who developed transient monocytosis of 11.06 × 10 9 /L with 32% promonocytes and 1% blasts during hospitalization that was secondary to severe COVID-19 infection. Three days later, the clinical status of the patient improved and the WBC had decreased to 8.47 × 10 9 /L with 2.2 × 10 9 /L monocytes. Flow cytometry studies did not reveal immunophenotypic findings specific for an overt malignant population. At no time during admission did the patient develop cytopenia(s), and she was discharged upon clinical improvement. However, the peripheral blood sample containing promonocytes was sent for molecular testing with an extended next-generation sequencing myeloid panel and was positive for pathogenic NPM1 Type A and DNMT3A R882H mutations. Subsequently, despite an essentially normal complete blood count, the patient underwent a bone marrow assessment that showed acute myeloid leukemia with 77% promonocytes. This case emphasizes the critical importance of a full work up to exclude acute leukemia when classical promonocyte morphology is encountered in the peripheral blood. Promonocytes are not a part of the reactive changes associated with COVID-19 and remain specific to myeloid neoplasia.

Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Plasmablastic lymphoma (PBL) is a rare and aggressive B-cell lymphoma with overlapping characteristics with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and multiple myeloma. Hyperactive Wnt signaling derails homeostasis and promotes oncogenesis and chemoresistance in DLBCL and multiple myeloma. Evidence suggests active cross-talk between the Wnt and RAS pathways impacting metastasis in solid cancers in which combined targeted therapies show effective results. Recent genomic studies in PBL demonstrated a high frequency of mutations linked with the RAS signaling pathway. However, the role of RAS and Wnt signaling pathway molecule expression in PBL remained unknown. We examined the expression of Wnt and RAS pathway-related genes in a well-curated cohort of PBL. Because activated B cells are considered immediate precursors of plasmablasts in B cell development, we compared this data with activated B-cell type DLBCL (ABC-DLBCL) patients, employing NanoString transcriptome analysis (770 genes). Hierarchical clustering revealed distinctive differential gene expression between PBL and ABC-DLBCL. Gene set enrichment analysis labeled the RAS signaling pathway as the most enriched (37 genes) in PBL, including upregulating critical genes, such as NRAS, RAF1, SHC1, and SOS1. Wnt pathway genes were also enriched (n = 22) by gene set enrichment analysis. Molecules linked with Wnt signaling activation, such as ligands or targets (FZD3, FZD7, c-MYC, WNT5A, WNT5B, and WNT10B), were elevated in PBL. Our data also showed that, unlike ABC-DLBCL, the deranged Wnt signaling activity in PBL was not linked with hyperactive nuclear factor κB and B-cell receptor signaling. In divergence, Wnt signaling inhibitors (CXXC4, SFRP2, and DKK1) also showed overexpression in PBL. The high expression of RAS signaling molecules reported may indicate linkage with gain-in-function RAS mutations. In addition, high expression of Wnt and RAS signaling molecules may pave pathways to explore benefiting from combined targeted therapies, as reported in solid cancer, to improve prognosis in PBL patients., (Copyright © 2023 United States & Canadian Academy of Pathology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Typically, myeloma cells express a monoclonal immunoglobulin (Ig), either heavy or light chain. Here, we present a case of multiple myeloma with clonal dual expression of kappa and lambda light chain in a 74-year-old woman. Awareness of rare biphenotypic myeloma is important for proper diagnostic workup. A 74-year-old woman underwent hip replacement with an incidental finding of 20% plasma cells in the femoral head. Subsequent bone marrow biopsy also showed about 30% of plasma cells negative for CD20, CD56, and CD117. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) and in situ hybridization studies showed a mixture of kappa and lambda plasma cells. Flow cytometry showed ambiguous results for cytoplasmic Ig light chains kappa and lambda. However, cyclin D1 was highly expressed by plasma cells, and increased free kappa light chains were identified in serum. Further investigation by double IHC demonstrated co-expression of kappa and lambda light chains in the same cells. Fluoresces in situ hybridization studies were positive for t(11;14)(q13;q32) and the deletion 13q. Since its first description by Taylor and Burns in 1974, the demonstration of restricted cytoplasmic Ig light chain expression by immunohistochemistry is 1 of the basic tools for corroborating clonality of the plasma cells in tissue biopsy. IHC results in myeloma with dual expression of Ig light chains may suggest polyclonal plasma cell population, especially when plasma cells do not form sheets in the bone marrow. In an appropriate clinical setting, other investigations are needed to exclude plasma cell neoplasm, even with seemingly "polytypic" results by IHC., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Immunohistochemistry (IHC) is a testing methodology that is widely used for large number of diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive biomarkers. Although IHC is a qualitative methodology, in addition to threshold-based stratification (positive vs. negative), the increasing levels of expression of some of these biomarkers often lead to more intense staining, which published evidence linked to specific diagnosis, prognosis, and responses to therapy. It is essential that the descriptive thresholds between positive and negative staining, as well as between frequently used graded categories of staining intensity (eg, 1+, 2+, 3+) are standardized and reproducible. Histo-score (H-score) is a frequently used scoring system that utilizes these categories. Our study introduces categorization of the cutoff points between positive and negative results and graded categories of staining intensity for nuclear IHC biomarker assays based on color interaction between hematoxylin and diaminobenzidine (DAB); the Blue-brown Color H-score (BBC-HS). Six cases of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma were stained for a nuclear marker MUM1. The staining was assessed by H-score by 12 readers. Short tutorial and illustrated instructions were provided to readers. The novel scoring system in this study uses the interaction between DAB (DAB, brown stain) and hematoxylin (blue counterstain) to set thresholds between "0" (negative nuclei), "1+" (weakly positive nuclei), "2+" (moderately positive nuclei), and "3+" (strongly positive nuclei). The readers recorded scores for 300 cells. Krippendorff alpha (K-alpha) and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were calculated. We have also assessed if reliability improved when counting the first 100 cells, first 200 cells, and for the total 300 cells using K-alpha and ICC. To assess the performance of each individual reader, the mean H-score and percent positive score (PPS) for each case was calculated, and the bias was calculated between each reader's score and the mean. K-alpha was 0.86 for H-score and 0.76 for PPS. ICC was 0.96 for H-score and 0.92 for PPS. The biases for H-score ranged from -58 to 41, whereas for PPS it ranged from -27% to 33%. Overall, most readers showed very low bias. Two readers were consistently underscoring and 2 were consistently overscoring compared with the mean. For nuclear IHC biomarker assays, our newly proposed cutoffs provide highly reliable/reproducible results between readers for positive and negative results and graded categories of staining intensity using existing morphologic parameters. BBC-HS is easy to teach and is applicable to both human eye and image analysis. BBC-HS application should facilitate the development of new reliable/reproducible scoring schemes for IHC biomarkers., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Matuzumab and nimotuzumab are anti-EGFR monoclonal antibodies that bind to different epitopes of domain III of EGFR. We developed 89 Zr-matuzumab as a PET probe for diagnosis/monitoring of response to treatment of a noncompeting anti-EGFR nimotuzumab antibody drug conjugate (ADC) using mouse colorectal cancer (CRC) xenografts. We developed 89 Zr-matuzumab and performed quality control in EGFR-positive DLD-1 cells. The K D of matuzumab, DFO-matuzumab and 89 Zr-matuzumab in DLD-1 cells was 5.9, 6.2 and 3 nM, respectively. A competitive radioligand binding assay showed that 89 Zr-matuzumab and nimotuzumab bound to noncompeting epitopes of EGFR. MicroPET/CT imaging and biodistribution of 89 Zr-matuzumab in mice bearing EGFR-positive xenografts (HT29, DLD-1 and MDA-MB-231) showed high uptake that was blocked with pre-dosing with matuzumab but not with the noncompeting binder nimotuzumab. We evaluated nimotuzumab-PEG 6 -DM1 ADC in CRC cells. IC 50 of nimotuzumab-PEG 6 -DM1 in SNU-C2B, DLD-1 and SW620 cells was dependent on EGFR density and was up to five-fold lower than that of naked nimotuzumab. Mice bearing the SNU-C2B xenograft were treated using three 15 mg/kg doses of nimotuzumab-PEG 6 -DM1, and 89 Zr-matuzumab microPET/CT was used to monitor the response to treatment. Treatment resulted in complete remission of the SNU-C2B tumor in 2/3 mice. Matuzumab and nimotuzumab are noncompeting and can be used simultaneously.

Context.—: The authors announce the launch of the Consortium for Analytic Standardization in Immunohistochemistry, funded with a grant from the National Cancer Institute. As with other laboratory testing, analytic standards are important for many different stakeholders: commercial vendors of instruments and reagents, biopharmaceutical firms, pathologists, scientists, clinical laboratories, external quality assurance organizations, and regulatory bodies. Analytic standards are customarily central to assay development, validation, and method transfer into routine assays and are critical quality assurance tools., Objective.—: To improve immunohistochemistry (IHC) test accuracy and reproducibility by integrating analytic standards into routine practice. To accomplish this mission, the consortium has 2 mandates: (1) to experimentally determine analytic sensitivity thresholds (lower and upper limits of detection) for selected IHC assays, and (2) to inform IHC stakeholders of what analytic standards are, why they are important, and how and for what purpose they are used. The consortium will then publish the data and offer analytic sensitivity recommendations where appropriate. These mandates will be conducted in collaboration and coordination with clinical laboratories, external quality assurance programs, and pathology organizations., Data Sources.—: Literature review and published external quality assurance data., Conclusions.—: Integration of analytic standards is expected to (1) harmonize and standardize IHC assays; (2) improve IHC test accuracy and reproducibility, both within and between laboratories; and (3) dramatically simplify and improve methodology transfer for new IHC protocols from published literature or clinical trials to clinical IHC laboratories.

Companion diagnostic immunohistochemistry (IHC) tests are developed and performed without incorporating the tools and principles of laboratory metrology. Basic analytic assay parameters such as lower limit of detection (LOD) and dynamic range are unknown to both assay developers and end users. We solved this problem by developing completely new tools for IHC-calibrators with units of measure traceable to National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) Standard Reference Material (SRM) 1934. In this study, we demonstrate the clinical impact and opportunity for incorporating these changes into PD-L1 testing. Forty-one laboratories in North America and Europe were surveyed with newly-developed PD-L1 calibrators. The survey sampled a broad representation of commercial and laboratory-developed tests (LDTs). Using the PD-L1 calibrators, we quantified analytic test parameters that were previously only inferred indirectly after large clinical studies. The data show that the four FDA-cleared PD-L1 assays represent three different levels of analytic sensitivity. The new analytic sensitivity data explain why some patients' tissue samples were positive by one assay and negative by another. The outcome depends on the assay's lower LOD. Also, why previous attempts to harmonize certain PD-L1 assays were unsuccessful; the assays' dynamic ranges were too disparate and did not overlap. PD-L1 assay calibration also clarifies the exact performance characteristics of LDTs relative to FDA-cleared commercial assays. Some LDTs' analytic response curves are indistinguishable from their predicate FDA-cleared assay. IHC assay calibration represents an important transition for companion diagnostic testing. The new tools will improve patient treatment stratification, test harmonization, and foster accuracy as tests transition from clinical trials to broad clinical use., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to United States & Canadian Academy of Pathology.)

Patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring ROS proto-oncogene 1 (ROS1) gene rearrangements show dramatic response to the tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) crizotinib. Current best practice guidelines recommend that all advanced stage non-squamous NSCLC patients be also tested for ROS1 gene rearrangements. Several studies have suggested that ROS1 immunohistochemistry (IHC) using the D4D6 antibody may be used to screen for ROS1 fusion positive lung cancers, with assays showing high sensitivity but moderate to high specificity. A break apart fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) test is then used to confirm the presence of ROS1 gene rearrangement. The goal of Canadian ROS1 (CROS) study was to harmonize ROS1 laboratory developed testing (LDT) by using IHC and FISH assays to detect ROS1 rearranged lung cancers across Canadian pathology laboratories. Cell lines expressing different levels of ROS1 (high, low, none) were used to calibrate IHC protocols after which participating laboratories ran the calibrated protocols on a reference set of 24 NSCLC cases (9 ROS1 rearranged tumors and 15 ROS1 non-rearranged tumors as determined by FISH). Results were compared using a centralized readout. The stained slides were evaluated for the cellular localization of staining, intensity of staining, the presence of staining in non-tumor cells, the presence of non-specific staining (e.g. necrosis, extracellular mater, other) and the percent positive cells. H-score was also determined for each tumor. Analytical sensitivity and specificity harmonization was achieved by using low limit of detection (LOD) as either any positivity in the U118 cell line or H-score of 200 with the HCC78 cell line. An overall diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of up to 100% and 99% respectively was achieved for ROS1 IHC testing (relative to FISH) using an adjusted H-score readout on the reference cases. This study confirms that LDT ROS1 IHC assays can be highly sensitive and specific for detection of ROS1 rearrangements in NSCLC. As NSCLC can demonstrate ROS1 IHC positivity in FISH-negative cases, the degree of the specificity of the IHC assay, especially in highly sensitive protocols, is mostly dependent on the readout cut-off threshold. As ROS1 IHC is a screening assay for a rare rearrangements in NSCLC, we recommend adjustment of the readout threshold in order to balance specificity, rather than decreasing the overall analytical and diagnostic sensitivity of the protocols., (Crown Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Immunoassays for protein analytes measured in situ support a $2 billion laboratory testing industry that suffers from significant interlaboratory disparities, affecting patient treatment. The root cause is that immunohistochemical testing lacks the generally accepted tools for analytic standardization, including reference standards and traceable units of measure. Until now, the creation of these tools has represented an insoluble technical hurdle., Methods: We address the need with a new concept in metrology-that is, linked traceability. Rather than calculating analyte concentration directly, which has proven too variable, we calculate concentration by measuring an attached fluorescein, traceable to NIST Standard Reference Material 1934, a fluorescein standard., Results: For validation, newly developed estrogen receptor (ER) calibrators were deployed in tandem with an array of 80 breast cancer tissue sections in a national external quality assessment program. Laboratory performance was assessed using both the ER standards and the tissue array. Similar to previous studies, the tissue array revealed substantial discrepancies in ER test results among the participating laboratories. The new ER calibrators revealed a broad range of analytic sensitivity, with the lower limits of detection ranging from 7310 to 74 790 molecules of ER. The data demonstrate, for the first time, that the variable test results correlate with analytic sensitivity, which can now be measured quantitatively., Conclusions: The reference standard enables precise interlaboratory alignment of immunohistochemistry test sensitivity for measuring cellular proteins in situ. The introduction of a reference standard and traceable units of measure for protein expression marks an important milestone., (© American Association for Clinical Chemistry 2021. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Purpose.—: To update key recommendations of the American Society of Clinical Oncology/College of American Pathologists estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PgR) testing in breast cancer guideline., Methods.—: A multidisciplinary international Expert Panel was convened to update the clinical practice guideline recommendations informed by a systematic review of the medical literature., Recommendations.—: The Expert Panel continues to recommend ER testing of invasive breast cancers by validated immunohistochemistry as the standard for predicting which patients may benefit from endocrine therapy, and no other assays are recommended for this purpose. Breast cancer samples with 1% to 100% of tumor nuclei positive should be interpreted as ER positive. However, the Expert Panel acknowledges that there are limited data on endocrine therapy benefit for cancers with 1% to 10% of cells staining ER positive. Samples with these results should be reported using a new reporting category, ER Low Positive, with a recommended comment. A sample is considered ER negative if < 1% or 0% of tumor cell nuclei are immunoreactive. Additional strategies recommended to promote optimal performance, interpretation, and reporting of cases with an initial low to no ER staining result include establishing a laboratory-specific standard operating procedure describing additional steps used by the laboratory to confirm/adjudicate results. The status of controls should be reported for cases with 0% to 10% staining. Similar principles apply to PgR testing, which is used primarily for prognostic purposes in the setting of an ER-positive cancer. Testing of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) for ER is recommended to determine potential benefit of endocrine therapies to reduce risk of future breast cancer, while testing DCIS for PgR is considered optional. Additional information can be found at www.asco.org/breast-cancer-guidelines .

Purpose: To update key recommendations of the American Society of Clinical Oncology/College of American Pathologists estrogen (ER) and progesterone receptor (PgR) testing in breast cancer guideline., Methods: A multidisciplinary international Expert Panel was convened to update the clinical practice guideline recommendations informed by a systematic review of the medical literature., Recommendations: The Expert Panel continues to recommend ER testing of invasive breast cancers by validated immunohistochemistry as the standard for predicting which patients may benefit from endocrine therapy, and no other assays are recommended for this purpose. Breast cancer samples with 1% to 100% of tumor nuclei positive should be interpreted as ER positive. However, the Expert Panel acknowledges that there are limited data on endocrine therapy benefit for cancers with 1% to 10% of cells staining ER positive. Samples with these results should be reported using a new reporting category, ER Low Positive, with a recommended comment. A sample is considered ER negative if < 1% or 0% of tumor cell nuclei are immunoreactive. Additional strategies recommended to promote optimal performance, interpretation, and reporting of cases with an initial low to no ER staining result include establishing a laboratory-specific standard operating procedure describing additional steps used by the laboratory to confirm/adjudicate results. The status of controls should be reported for cases with 0% to 10% staining. Similar principles apply to PgR testing, which is used primarily for prognostic purposes in the setting of an ER-positive cancer. Testing of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) for ER is recommended to determine potential benefit of endocrine therapies to reduce risk of future breast cancer, while testing DCIS for PgR is considered optional. Additional information can be found at www.asco.org/breast-cancer-guidelines.

Since 2014, programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1)/programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) checkpoint inhibitors have been approved by various regulatory agencies for the treatment of multiple cancers including melanoma, lung cancer, urothelial carcinoma, renal cell carcinoma, head and neck cancer, classical Hodgkin lymphoma, colorectal cancer, gastroesophageal cancer, hepatocellular cancer, and other solid tumors. Of these approved drug/disease combinations, a subset also has regulatory agency-approved, commercially available companion/complementary diagnostic assays that were clinically validated using data from their corresponding clinical trials. The objective of this document is to provide evidence-based guidance to assist clinical laboratories in establishing fit-for-purpose PD-L1 biomarker assays that can accurately identify patients with specific tumor types who may respond to specific approved immuno-oncology therapies targeting the PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint. These recommendations are issued as 38 Guideline Statements that address (i) assay development for surgical pathology and cytopathology specimens, (ii) reporting elements, and (iii) quality assurance (including validation/verification, internal quality assurance, and external quality assurance). The intent of this work is to provide recommendations that are relevant to any tumor type, are universally applicable and can be implemented by any clinical immunohistochemistry laboratory performing predictive PD-L1 immunohistochemistry testing.

PD-L1 testing by immunohistochemistry (IHC) has presented significant challenges not only for clinical laboratories, but also for external quality assurance (EQA) entities that provide proficiency testing (PT) for clinical laboratories. Canadian Immunohistochemistry Quality Control (CIQC) has used educational runs to explore approaches to sample design and analysis of results that would enhance patient safety. As PT for predictive biomarkers requires modeling at every level (design of the run, assessment of the run, and reporting of "pass" or "fail") based on "fit-for-purpose" principles, CIQC has applied those principles to PD-L1 PT runs. Each laboratory received unstained slides with TMA tissue cores from 104 randomly selected primary NSCLC and tonsil tissues to test with their current PD-L1 assay. Diagnostic sensitivity and specificity were calculated against designated gold standards based on the "3D" approach (drug-disease-diagnostic assay). Depending on the selection of fit-for-purpose gold standards and also on the selection of what was considered fit-for-purpose cut-off points, great variation in the performance (accuracy) of both companion/complementary diagnostic assays and laboratory developed tests was seen. "Fit-for-purpose" in PT for PD-L1 testing entails that the purpose(s) of each PT run is declared a priori, that the PT program has selected/designated purpose-specific gold standard results for the PT challenge, and that the PT materials for the PT run are designed and constructed to enable calculations of diagnostic accuracy.

There are two aspects of immunohistochemistry (IHC) that are relevant to practicing pathologist: (1) understanding of IHC biomarker panels that are suitable for diagnostic, prognostic and predictive testing, and (2) understanding of IHC quality assurance (QA), which makes sure that the tests in these panels work as they should. The two aspects are closely linked together and call for collaborative approach between pathologists and IHC laboratory technologists as both need to be involved in developing and maintaining IHC biomarkers that are "fit-for-purpose". This article reviews the most current IHC QA concepts that are imminently material to practicing pathologists with emphasis on challenges that are specific to endocrine pathology.

Objectives: The occurrence of uneven staining (UES) in automated immunohistochemistry (IHC) has been experienced by clinical laboratories and has the potential to confound readout, interpretation, and reporting of IHC assays despite the presence optimally stained on-slide controls. However, there are no studies of this phenomenon in regard to the type, frequency, and association with different automated IHC platforms. We studied the occurrence of UES in automated IHC assays with real world examples from clinical practice and by using a laboratory developed methodology to monitor baseline and periodic performance of automated IHC instruments., Materials and Methods: Sections of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded normal liver tissue were mounted on 180 glass slides and stained for HepPar1 on 6 automated IHC instruments (4 different models from 3 different manufacturers). Macroscopic and microscopic defects of staining were recorded., Results: Only 8% of slides showed completely uniform staining. UES, including areas of both increased and decreased staining, occurred with all instruments. Decreased staining was often zonal, involving large regions of the slide. Decreased staining mostly localized in an instrument-dependent manner. Increased staining tended to occur in small foci with a random distribution., Conclusions: The common occurrence of UES (particularly decreased staining) has important implications for the reliable read-out of IHC assays on biopsy samples. Baseline and periodic quality assurance testing for UES is recommended for all automated IHC instruments.

Appropriate controls are critical for the correct interpretation of immunohistochemistry (IHC) assays and help to detect unsuccessful/suboptimal slides. We performed an audit of slides that were designated as being "failed" by the IHC laboratory (ie, laboratory-failed slides) of a large North American oncology and transplant center. All slides were run with on-slide controls. The study included analysis of only those failed slides where staining of both internal and external controls were unsuccessful/suboptimal in a period of 65 days. Failed slides were categorized based on the reason why the laboratory failed the slides. The study compared frequencies of failed slides across 9 automated stainers from 2 manufacturers and between class 1 and class 2 biomarkers. Distinction between "failed slides" and "false-negative/false-positive tests" is emphasized. The study included 22,234 IHC slides in the study period. Of those, 452 (2%) were designated as "failed" by the laboratory. Class 1 and class 2 tests showed failure rates of 0.8% and 9%, respectively. The most frequent reason for failed slides on one platform related to "no or weak staining," whereas the other had more failed slides due to "high signal-to-noise ratio" (P<0.0001, χ test). Although the slides were run in groups of the same as well as different IHC protocols, unsuccessful/suboptimal testing typically manifested as individual slides (92%) and not as groups of slides; this indicates that so-called "batch controls" are not suitable as controls for automated platforms. We conclude that in the era of automated IHC staining platforms, on-slide controls allow for the proper identification of IHC slides that should be failed by the IHC laboratory and represent a powerful tool for preventing the reporting of false-negative/false-positive tests.

The numbers of diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive immunohistochemistry (IHC) tests are increasing; the implementation and validation of new IHC tests, revalidation of existing tests, as well as the on-going need for daily quality assurance monitoring present significant challenges to clinical laboratories. There is a need for proper quality tools, specifically tissue tools that will enable laboratories to successfully carry out these processes. This paper clarifies, through the lens of laboratory tissue tools, how validation, verification, and revalidation of IHC tests can be performed in order to develop and maintain high quality "fit-for-purpose" IHC testing in the era of precision medicine. This is the final part of the 4-part series "Evolution of Quality Assurance for Clinical Immunohistochemistry in the Era of Precision Medicine."

The immune system plays a critical and complex role in the pathobiology of spinal cord injury (SCI), exerting both beneficial and detrimental effects. Increasing evidence suggests that there are injury level-dependent differences in the immune response to SCI. Patients with traumatic SCI have elevated levels of circulating autoantibodies against components of the central nervous system, but the role of these antibodies in SCI outcomes remains unknown. In rodent models of mid-thoracic SCI, antibody-mediated autoimmunity appears to be detrimental to recovery. However, whether autoantibodies against the spinal cord are generated following cervical SCI (cSCI), the most common level of injury in humans, remains undetermined. To address this knowledge gap, we investigated the antibody responses following cSCI in a rat model of injury. We found increased immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgM antibodies in the spinal cord in the subacute phase of injury (2 weeks), but not in more chronic phases (10 and 20 weeks). At 2 weeks post-cSCI, antibodies were detected at the injury epicenter and co-localized with the astroglial scar and neurons of the ventral horn. These increased levels of antibodies corresponded with enhanced activation of immune responses in the spleen. Higher counts of antibody-secreting cells were observed in the spleen of injured rats. Further, increased levels of secreted IgG antibodies and enhanced proliferation of T-cells in splenocyte cultures from injured rats were found. These findings suggest the potential development of autoantibody responses following cSCI in the rat. The impact of the post-traumatic antibody responses on functional outcomes of cSCI is a critical topic that requires further investigation.

Validation of immunohistochemistry (IHC) assays is a subject that is of great importance to clinical practice as well as basic research and clinical trials. When applied to clinical practice and focused on patient safety, validation of IHC assays creates objective evidence that IHC assays used for patient care are "fit-for-purpose." Validation of IHC assays needs to be properly informed by and modeled to assess the purpose of the IHC assay, which will further determine what sphere of validation is required, as well as the scope, type, and tier of technical validation. These concepts will be defined in this review, part 3 of the 4-part series "Evolution of Quality Assurance for Clinical Immunohistochemistry in the Era of Precision Medicine."

All laboratory tests have test performance characteristics (TPCs), whether or not they are explicitly known to the laboratorian or the pathologist. TPCs are thus also an integral characteristic of immunohistochemistry (IHC) tests and other in situ, cell-based molecular assays such as DNA or RNA in situ hybridization or aptamer-based testing. Because of their descriptive, in situ, cell-based nature, IHC tests have a limited repertoire of appropriate TPCs. Although only a few TPCs are relevant to IHC, proper selection of informative TPCs is nonetheless essential for the development of and adherence to appropriate quality assurance measures in the IHC laboratory. This paper describes the TPCs that are relevant to IHC testing and emphasizes the role of TPCs in the validation of IHC tests. This is part 2 of the 4-part series "Evolution of Quality Assurance for Clinical Immunohistochemistry in the Era of Precision Medicine."

Technical progress in immunohistochemistry (IHC) as well as the increased utility of IHC for biomarker testing in precision medicine avails us of the opportunity to reassess clinical IHC as a laboratory test and its proper characterization as a special type of immunoassay. IHC, as used in current clinical applications, is a descriptive, qualitative, cell-based, usually nonlinear, in situ protein immunoassay, for which the readout of the results is principally performed by pathologists rather than by the instruments on which the immunoassay is performed. This modus operandi is in contrast to other assays where the instrument also performs the readout of the test result (eg, nephelometry readers, mass spectrometry readers, etc.). The readouts (results) of IHC tests are used either by pathologists for diagnostic purposes or by treating physicians (eg, oncologists) for patient management decisions, the need for further testing, or follow-up. This paper highlights the distinction between the original purpose for which an IHC test is developed and its subsequent clinical uses, as well as the role of pathologists in the analytical and postanalytical phases of IHC testing. This paper is the first of a 4-part series, under the general title of "Evolution of Quality Assurance for Clinical Immunohistochemistry in the Era of Precision Medicine."

Background & Aims: Sessile serrated adenomas/polyps (SSA/Ps) and traditional serrated adenomas (TSAs) are now distinguished from hyperplastic polyps and recognized as precursors to colorectal cancer (CRC). We studied CRC risks associated with serrated polyps., Methods: By using Danish databases (1977-2009), we conducted a nationwide population-based, case-control study nested within individuals who had received colonoscopies (n = 272,342), and identified 2045 CRC cases and 8105 CRC-free individuals (controls). For each case and control, we identified the first colorectal polyp(s) that underwent a biopsy or were excised during or after the initial colonoscopy, and obtained tissue blocks for hyperplastic lesions. Four expert pathologists reviewed these lesions using current terminology for serrated polyps. We used logistic regression to compute odds ratios (ORs) to associate the risk of CRC with polyp type and estimated the absolute risks by multiplying the risk in patients with no polyps by these ORs., Results: Seventy-nine cases and 142 controls had SSA/Ps (OR, 3.07; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.30-4.10). SSA/Ps with cytology markers of dysplasia were associated with a particularly high OR (4.76; 95% CI, 2.59-8.73). Women with SSA/P had a higher risk for CRC than men with SSA/P (OR for women, 5.05; 95% CI, 3.05-8.37 vs OR for men, 2.18; 95% CI, 1.24-3.82); patients with SSA/P proximal to the splenic flexure had the highest risk for CRC (OR, 12.42; 95% CI, 4.88-31.58). The OR for CRC was 4.84 in the 14 cases vs 17 controls with TSAs (95% CI, 2.36-9.93), 2.51 in the 757 cases vs 1698 controls with conventional adenomas (95% CI, 2.25-2.80), and 1.30 in the 55 cases vs 235 controls with hyperplastic polyps (95% CI, 0.96-1.77). The 10-year risk for CRC was 4.4% for patients with SSA/P with dysplasia, 4.5% for patients with TSAs, and 2.3% for patients with conventional adenomas., Conclusion: Patients with SSA/P or TSA are at increased risk for CRC; their level of risk is similar to or higher than that of patients with conventional adenomas., (Copyright © 2016 AGA Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

For several decades, immunohistochemistry (IHC), more specifically diagnostic IHC (dIHC), has been considered an art rather than a laboratory test. There was no clarity about what test performance characteristics are relevant to dIHC, test performance characteristics were not fully defined for dIHC and partly as a consequence of that, there were no standardised controls or reference standards. Herein, we discuss the role of standardisation of external controls for test performance characteristics and the role of standardised controls and reference standards for overall standardisation of IHC., (Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.)

Intrachromosomal rearrangements involving the ALK gene are found in 3% to 5% of non-small cell lung cancers. Crizotinib is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor that has been shown to prolong progression-free survival in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer harboring ALK gene rearrangements. In Canada, ALK immunohistochemistry (IHC) is used as a screening test before confirmation by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Canadian Immunohistochemistry Quality Control (CIQC) provides ALK (Lung Cancer) proficiency testing (PT) for Canadian IHC laboratories. Samples included 32 previously characterized cases (IHC and FISH) either from the Canadian ALK (CALK) project or from CIQC reference laboratories. The same design was used for both runs. A total of 20 laboratories participated in Run 1 and 22 in Run 2. Some laboratories participated in the anticipation of future need and used the PT exercise as a part of test development and validation. Results of the IHC testing were first self-reported using the CIQC TMA Scorer and then evaluated by expert assessment. FISH results were self-reported only. Participants also reported details about IHC and FISH protocols. The κ-values were calculated, for which values >0.80 were used as acceptable results, respectively. The pass rate between the 2 runs and between different primary antibodies were compared. Six of the 22 protocols (27%) in Run 1 and 15 of the 22 (68%) protocols in Run 2 passed the CIQC PT criteria for IHC testing. The increase in the pass rate for Run 2 was significant (P=0.03, Wilcoxon signed-rank test). All reported FISH results were correct. CALK laboratories had significantly higher κ-values than non-CALK laboratories (P=0.002, t test). PT for IHC for rare diseases such as ALK-positive lung cancer is feasible, but challenging. The academic nature of the CIQC program and collaboration on a national level facilitated the development of appropriate PT samples. Participating laboratories made use of the PT exercise either to confirm that their testing was properly calibrated or to improve their protocols, which was confirmed by the achievement of significantly better results in Run 2. They also used CIQC's PT program for new test development and optimization.

Bone marrow (BM) tissue biopsy evaluation, including trephine biopsy and clot section, is an integral part of BM investigation and is often followed by ancillary studies, in particular immunohistochemistry (IHC). IHC provides in situ coupling of morphological assessment and immunophenotype. The number of different IHC tests that can be applied to BM trephine biopsies and the number of indications for IHC testing is increasing concurrently with the development of flow cytometry and molecular diagnostic methods. An international Working Party for the Standardization of Bone Marrow IHC was formed by the International Council for Standardization in Hematology (ICSH) to prepare a set of guidelines for the standardization of BM IHC based on currently available published evidence and modern understanding of quality assurance principles as applied to IHC in general. The guidelines were discussed at the ICSH General Assemblies and reviewed by an international panel of experts to achieve further consensus and represent further development of the previously published ICSH guidelines for the standardization of BM specimens handling and reports., (© 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Pathologists provide diagnoses relevant to the disease state of the patient and identify specific tissue characteristics relevant to response to therapy and prognosis. As personalized medicine evolves, there is a trend for increased demand of tissue-derived parameters. Pathologists perform increasingly complex analyses on the same 'cases'. Traditional methods of workload assessment and reimbursement, based on number of cases sometimes with a modifier (eg, the relative value unit (RVU) system used in the United States), often grossly underestimate the amount of work needed for complex cases and may overvalue simple, small biopsy cases. We describe a new approach to pathologist workload measurement that aligns with this new practice paradigm. Our multisite institution with geographically diverse partner institutions has developed the Automatable Activity-Based Approach to Complexity Unit Scoring (AABACUS) model that captures pathologists' clinical activities from parameters documented in departmental laboratory information systems (LISs). The model's algorithm includes: 'capture', 'export', 'identify', 'count', 'score', 'attribute', 'filter', and 'assess filtered results'. Captured data include specimen acquisition, handling, analysis, and reporting activities. Activities were counted and complexity units (CUs) generated using a complexity factor for each activity. CUs were compared between institutions, practice groups, and practice types and evaluated over a 5-year period (2008-2012). The annual load of a clinical service pathologist, irrespective of subspecialty, was ∼40,000 CUs using relative benchmarking. The model detected changing practice patterns and was appropriate for monitoring clinical workload for anatomical pathology, neuropathology, and hematopathology in academic and community settings, and encompassing subspecialty and generalist practices. AABACUS is objective, can be integrated with an LIS and automated, is reproducible, backwards compatible, and future adaptable. It can be applied as a robust decision support tool for the assessment of overall and targeted staffing needs as well as utilization analyses for resource allocation.

Cavitating mesenteric lymph node syndrome (CMLNS) is an infrequently reported manifestation of unrecognized/longstanding celiac disease and may be associated with enteropathy-associated intestinal T-cell lymphoma and hyposplenism. Unrecognized malignancy and life-threatening infections can pose a significant risk to patients in cases of delayed diagnosis. Fine-needle aspiration of the mesenteric lesions may contribute significantly to the correct diagnosis and can expedite patient management. We report on the cytologic characteristics of enteropathy-associated intestinal T-cell lymphoma first detected in a cyst fluid specimen obtained from a patient with cavitating mesenteric lesions. Image-guided fine-needle aspiration resulted in chylous fluid that contained a lymphoid cell population with neoplastic morphology and abnormal immunophenotype. Further work-up led to the diagnosis of enteropathy-associated intestinal T-cell lymphoma with bone marrow involvement. Cytologic assessment of the cyst fluid is an important part of the diagnostic cascade in patients with CMLNS to exclude clinically occult lymphoma., (© 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Diagnostic immunohistochemistry (dIHC) has been practiced for several decades, with an ongoing expansion of applications for diagnostic use, and more recently for detection of prognostic and predictive biomarkers. However, standardization of practice has yet to be achieved, despite significant advances in methodology. An Ad Hoc Expert Committee was formed to address the standardization of controls, which is a missing link in demonstrating and assuring standardization of the various components of dIHC. This committee has also developed a concept of immunohistochemistry critical assay performance controls that are intended to facilitate methodology transfer and harmonization in dIHC. Furthermore, the committee has clarified definitions of IHC assay sensitivity and specificity, with special emphasis on how these definitions apply to positive controls. Recommendations for "best laboratory practice" regarding positive controls for dIHC are specified. The first set of immunohistochemistry critical assay performance controls for several frequently used IHC stains or tests is also developed and presented.

Objectives: The sessile serrated adenoma/polyp (SSA/P) is increasingly recognized as an important precursor to colorectal cancer (CRC) and may contribute to proximal postcolonoscopy CRCs. Hyperplastic polyps (HPs) generally follow a more benign course than do SSA/Ps, but they have a similar histologic appearance. Our aims were to identify patient and polyp factors associated with reclassification of HPs as SSA/Ps during a central pathology review and to characterize and compare their subsequent clinical management with other polyps., Methods: From 2003 to 2008, we prospectively enrolled asymptomatic persons aged 50-74 years in a study of screening colonoscopy. Because criteria for SSA/P diagnosis evolved over our study period, we initiated a second review of all HPs >5 mm in size in 2011, with reclassification of polyps if indicated. Rates of subsequent colonoscopies, polypectomies, and CRCs were identified., Results: We enrolled 2,527 persons who underwent colonoscopy in whom 111 had HPs >5 mm. Thirty-two of the 111 participants (28.8%) with HPs >5 mm had their polyps reclassified as SSA/Ps. There were no significant differences in patient characteristics between those with reclassified SSA/Ps and those who had HPs >5 mm. SSA/Ps were more likely to be proximal (P<0.001) and larger (P<0.007) than the HPs. In all, 48.3% of those with high-risk adenomas received appropriate follow-up compared with 26.1% of those with high-risk SSA/Ps., Conclusions: Almost 1/3 of recently diagnosed HPs >5 mm were reclassified as SSA/Ps. Patients previously diagnosed with larger HPs in the proximal colon may benefit from a pathologic review to ensure appropriate diagnosis and follow-up.

Objectives: Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded unstained archived diagnostic tissue sections are frequently exchanged between clinical laboratories for immunohistochemical staining. The manner in which such sections are prepared represents a type of preanalytical variable that must be taken into account given the growing importance of immunohistochemical assays, especially predictive and prognostic tests, in personalized medicine., Methods: Recommendations were derived from review of the literature and expert consensus of the Canadian Association of Pathologists-Association canadienne des pathologists National Standards Committee for High Complexity Testing/Immunohistochemistry., Results: Relevant considerations include the type of glass slide on which to mount the unstained sections; the thickness of the tissue sections; the time from slide preparation to testing; the environment, particularly the temperature at which the unstained sections will be maintained prior to testing; the inclusion of on-slide positive control tissue where possible; and whether patient identifier(s) should be included on slide labels., Conclusions: Clear communication between requesting and releasing laboratories will facilitate the proper preparation of unstained sections and also ensure that applicable privacy considerations are addressed., (Copyright© by the American Society for Clinical Pathology.)

Context: Immunohistochemical (IHC) testing for HER2/neu is becoming the standard of care for guiding adjuvant treatment of gastric carcinoma with trastuzumab., Objective: To assess interlaboratory variation in IHC staining and interpretation across multiple laboratories., Design: A tissue microarray consisting of 45 cores from 28 gastric cancers was distributed to 37 laboratories for HER2/neu assessment. The IHC results were compared against expert scores at an academic institution and correlated with in situ hybridization results from the originating specimen. Interlaboratory agreement was calculated using Cohen κ statistic., Results: The survey demonstrated several variations in IHC methods, including the primary antibodies in use. There was excellent agreement among laboratories in HER2/neu(+) (IHC 3(+)) cases (κ = 0.80 ± 0.01) and very good agreement among laboratories in HER2/neu(-) (IHC 0 or 1(+)) cases (κ = 0.58 ± 0.01). Less agreement was observed among laboratories when scoring equivocal (IHC 2(+)) cases (κ = 0.22 ± 0.01). Sensitivity and specificity of HER2/neu IHC were 99% and 100%, respectively, when measured against expert review and consensus score as a reference standard., Conclusions: There is substantial interlaboratory agreement in the interpretation of HER2/neu IHC despite variability in protocols. Although HER2/neu IHC is a highly sensitive and specific test, primary antibody selection may significantly affect IHC results. Furthermore, gastric tumors require a unique scoring system and expertise in interpretation. Intratumoral heterogeneity has a significant effect on HER2/neu scoring by IHC. Ongoing quality assurance exercises among laboratories will help ensure optimized HER2/neu testing.

Four patients presented with acute leukemia of ambiguous or myeloid lineage in association with Langerhans cell histiocytosis and provide evidence suggesting a common origin of the two neoplasms. One patient had a non-constitutional trisomy 21 in both the leukemic blasts and the Langerhans cells indicative of a clonal relationship. A second case expressed CD2, CD13, and CD117 on both the Langerhans cells and the blasts suggesting a possible clonal relationship. All four cases exhibited geographic intermingling of the Langerhans cell histiocytosis and acute leukemia and shared unique features including extramedullary leukemia involving lymph nodes in all cases with Langerhans cell histiocytosis only present in sites involved by acute leukemia. T-cell antigen expression was present in all cases with one meeting criteria for mixed phenotype acute leukemia, T/myeloid, not otherwise specified. These findings support the concept that coexistent Langerhans cell histiocytosis and acute leukemia is clonally related in some cases. Furthermore, these cases of acute myeloid or acute leukemia of ambiguous lineage with Langerhans cell histiocytosis share some unique features suggesting a common underlying neoplastic hematopoietic stem cell.

Standardization of controls, both positive and negative controls, is needed for diagnostic immunohistochemistry (dIHC). The use of IHC-negative controls, irrespective of type, although well established, is not standardized. As such, the relevance and applicability of negative controls continues to challenge both pathologists and laboratory budgets. Despite the clear theoretical notion that appropriate controls serve to demonstrate the sensitivity and specificity of the dIHC test, it remains unclear which types of positive and negative controls are applicable and/or useful in day-to-day clinical practice. There is a perceived need to provide "best practice recommendations" for the use of negative controls. This perception is driven not only by logistics and cost issues, but also by increased pressure for accurate IHC testing, especially when IHC is performed for predictive markers, the number of which is rising as personalized medicine continues to develop. Herein, an international ad hoc expert panel reviews classification of negative controls relevant to clinical practice, proposes standard terminology for negative controls, considers the total evidence of IHC specificity that is available to pathologists, and develops a set of recommendations for the use of negative controls in dIHC based on "fit-for-use" principles.

There are two broad classes (or categories) of excised human tissue: diagnostic tissue (DT) and research tissue (RT). Classification of excised human tissue does not define its ultimate use and ultimate use of excised human tissue does not define its classification. While both DT and RT can be used for research, DT has specific requirements with respect to how it must be handled if and when being accessed for research. We highlight distinguishing features of DT: (1) it is a clinical record, (2) it must be identifiable to a specific individual, (3) it is stewarded by pathology departments/clinical laboratories and (4) it has a mandatory retention period. We discuss how the further sub-classification of DT into archived DT (aDT) and excess DT (eDT) impacts the nature of its role in research. We examine the concept of DT as a clinical record and emphasize the impact of mandatory retention as it applies to how DT may be accessed for research purposes. We explain the role of post-retention eDT as a source of RT as well as procedures for access to in-retention aDT for research. Clarity of such issues will facilitate responsible access to DT for research.

Aims: Pathological separation of poorly differentiated urothelial and prostate carcinoma is difficult, but imperative because of the impact on patient management. Tumour morphology, in conjunction with a panel of immunohistochemistry (IHC), such as prostate-specific antigen (PSA), prostatic acid phosphatase (PSAP), CK7, CK20, p63 and high molecular weight keratins (HMWKs) are usually employed to resolve this issue. Androgen receptor (AR) expression is maintained in high-grade, undifferentiated prostate carcinoma, and thus, could be considered as a potentially useful adjunct to the conventional panel of markers., Methods: We performed an institutional review of all cases from 2006 to 2012 in which AR IHC had been performed to determine its diagnostic utility in discriminating between poorly differentiated urothelial and prostate carcinoma. Of the eligible cases (n=40), there were 9 high-grade urothelial carcinomas, 27 prostate carcinomas and 4 with both prostate and bladder tumours. All diagnoses were made by integrating the clinical, radiological, morphological and IHC results., Results: In all the prostate carcinomas, there was diffuse, intense nuclear staining for AR. The urothelial tumours were either negative, had cytoplasmic staining or showed occasionally weak nuclear staining. The difference was highly significant with p<0.0001 (Mann-Whitney U test)., Conclusions: We conclude that AR is an important marker as it is best able to distinguish between poorly differentiated urothelial and prostate carcinoma. AR appears superior to PSA and PSAP, which are not consistently expressed in high-grade prostate carcinoma. Also, high-grade urothelial carcinoma may be negative for CK20, p63/HMWK and occasionally CK7. We advocate the inclusion of AR in the panel of markers to differentiate these tumours.

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.