A review of external quality assurance program performance in non-gynaecological cytology and Pd-L1 For NSCLC

Abstract

The Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia Quality Assurance Programs (RCPAQAP) are accredited against International Standard (ISO/IEC) 17043 Conformity assessment – General requirements for proficiency testing. This standard requires evaluation and commentary of participant performance including variation between participants and comparisons between previous testing rounds. To implement these requirements for the Cytopathology non-gynaecological programs in 2019, methods from the Anatomical Pathology diagnostic programs were utilised. Methods for case selection, evaluation of participants and results from the first year will be discussed. In 2017, the RCPAQAP began collaborating with the United Kingdom National External Quality Assessment Services for Immunocytochemistry and In-situ hybridisation (UK NEQAS ICC and ISH) for PD-L1 for non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) technical proficiency testing. In 2018 there were 22 RCPAQAP participants enrolled in this program and in 2019, enrolments increased to 40 participants. Results from 2018/19 will be discussed and comparisons with the broader UK NEQAS participants will be made. The RCPAQAP issued a PD-L1 for NSCLC interpretation pilot and results from this pilot will also be discussed along with other updates and developments for Anatomical Pathology and Cytopathology programs in 2020.