We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress
Sign In
Advertise with Us
LGC Clinical Diagnostics

Download Mobile App




Events

ATTENTION: Due to the COVID-19 PANDEMIC, many events are being rescheduled for a later date, converted into virtual venues, or altogether cancelled. Please check with the event organizer or website prior to planning for any forthcoming event.

Consortium for Analytic Standardization in Immunohistochemistry (IHC) Launched to Improve Patient IHC Test Accuracy

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 11 Mar 2022
Print article
Image: IHC staining controls (Photo courtesy of Boston Cell Standards)
Image: IHC staining controls (Photo courtesy of Boston Cell Standards)

Standard patient blood tests can be analyzed in any lab and yield the same results every time because of international reference standards that ensure all tests are aligned with one another; both patient and physician can have confidence in the results wherever the tests are performed. No such reference standards exist in immunohistochemistry (IHC), meaning that different labs could – and often do – return different results from the same sample. Now, a newly-launched organization, the Consortium for Analytic Standardization in Immunohistochemistry (CASI), aims to improve patient IHC test accuracy and reproducibility.

CASI, launched by Boston Cell Standards (Boston, MA, USA), is led by an international panel of pathologists and scientists, with a mission to integrate analytic reference standards into IHC, a test format widely used in surgical pathology to evaluate cancers in tissue samples and determine correct treatment. Boston Cell Standards has invented the first and only IHC reference materials, including calibrators for IHC standardization and controls for daily verification of IHC assay accuracy. These tools incorporate concentration measures that are traceable to a National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standard.

Rates of clinically inadequate IHC testing are roughly 10 times that of clinical blood testing labs, with test discrepancy rates of 10% to 30%. Introducing reference standards will raise the quality of IHC testing by giving pathologists certainty that their results are accurate and oncologists greater confidence in patient diagnosis and treatment selection. CASI will conduct studies to determine appropriate analytic sensitivity thresholds for selected IHC tests, publish the data it collects, and then offer analytic sensitivity recommendations. In addition to guiding routine clinical practice, these recommendations will be intended to facilitate and simplify methodology transfer between laboratories, from published literature, and in clinical trials.

“Biopsy testing in the pathology lab with immunohistochemistry is essential to characterizing a patient’s cancer and determining the proper course of treatment. However, a lack of industry-wide standards, calibrators and controls, and traceable units of measure has, for years, frustrated attempts to lower the error rate. It holds the entire field of pathology back,” said Dr. Steve Bogen, CEO of Boston Cell Standards, a board-certified clinical pathologist. “Building analytic standards and integrating them into routine clinical practice and clinical research will provide pathologists and clinical research scientists vital tools to inform their best work.”

“Harmonization among all IHC laboratories is an essential goal for improved patient care. The ability to set objective, quantitative lower limits of detection for any assay is a much-needed step in this direction,” said Dr. Emina Torlakovic, a board-certified anatomic and clinical pathologist and hematopathologist; director of Canadian Biomarker Quality Assurance academic program; division head of Hematopathology, Dept. of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Saskatchewan Health Authority and University of Saskatchewan; and, chairperson of the CASI steering committee. “The consortium’s work stands to make a valuable and lasting positive impact on labs, clinicians and patients, and improve the delivery of care. I’m honored to be a part of it.”

Related Links:
Boston Cell Standards 

HLX
New
Gold Supplier
Dengue ELISA Test
Dengue Virus IgM
New
Cardiac Test
ImmunTech Cardiac Triple Test
New
Spectrophotometer
UVILINE 9300

Print article

Channels

Clinical Chem.

view channel
Image: Electrochemical cells etched by laser on wooden tongue depressor measure glucose and nitrite in saliva (Photo courtesy of Analytical Chemistry)

Biosensor-Fabricated Wooden Tongue Depressor Measures Glucose and Nitrite in Saliva

Physicians often use tongue depressors to examine a patient's mouth and throat. However, it is hard to imagine that this simple wooden tool could actively assess a patient's health. This idea has led to... Read more

Molecular Diagnostics

view channel
Image: The Geo portable testing platform integrated with the Snap collection device (Photo courtesy of ReadyGo Diagnostics)

Ultra-Portable Rapid Test Platform Offers Complete Sample-to-Answer Solution for Remote and Off-Grid Testing

An ultra-portable isothermal molecular diagnostics system integrated with a patented device which combines sample collection and processing into a single, easy-to-use disposable is set to revolutionize... Read more

Hematology

view channel
Image: The Atellica HEMA 570 and 580 hematology analyzers remove workflow barriers (Photo courtesy of Siemens)

Next-Gen Hematology Analyzers Eliminate Workflow Roadblocks and Achieve Fast Throughput

Hematology testing is a critical aspect of patient care, utilized to establish a patient's health baseline, track treatment progress, or guide timely modifications to care. However, increasing constraints... Read more

Immunology

view channel
Image: Newly observed anti-FSP antibodies have also been found to predict immune-related adverse events (Photo courtesy of Calviri)

First Blood-Based Biomarkers Test to Predict Treatment Response in Cancer Patients

Every year worldwide, lung cancer afflicts over two million individuals and almost the same number of people succumb to the disease. This malignancy leads the charts in cancer-related mortalities, with... Read more

Microbiology

view channel
Image: The rapid MTB strip test for tuberculosis can identify TB patients within two hours (Photo courtesy of Chulalongkorn University)

Rapid MTB Strip Test Detects Tuberculosis in Less Than an Hour without Special Tools

Tuberculosis (TB), a highly infectious disease, continues to pose significant challenges to public health worldwide. TB is caused by a bacterium known as "Mycobacterium tuberculosis," spreading through... Read more

Pathology

view channel
Image: The UNIQO 160 (CE-IVDR) advances diagnostic analysis for autoimmune diseases (Photo courtesy of EUROIMMUN)

Novel Automated IIFT System Enables Cutting-Edge Diagnostic Analysis

A newly-launched automated indirect immunofluorescence test (IIFT) system for autoimmune disease diagnostics offers an all-in-one solution to enhance the efficiency of the complete IIFT process, comprising... Read more

Technology

view channel
Electronic biosensor uses DNA aptamers for detecting biomarkers in whole blood samples (Photo courtesy of Freepik)

Electronic Biosensor Detects Biomarkers in Whole Blood Samples without Addition of Reagents

The absence of robust, reliable, and user-friendly bioanalytical tools for early and timely diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases, particularly sudden cardiac arrest, leads to preventable deaths and imposes... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2023 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.