Quality assurance for steroid receptor assay in human breast cancer: six years experience of the Italian Committee.

Since 1979 the quality control design proposed by the Italian ad hoc Committee has evaluated several lyophilized preparations with scalar receptor content; this permits the identification by linear regression analysis of systematic and non systematic errors. At present 41 laboratories from most of the national regions have joined the Italian Committee. The overall results of five years application of quality assurance in Italy show that there was a different pattern of imprecision with satisfactory indexes for intralaboratory performances but major variations in interlaboratory controls. There was also a remarkable difference of variability indices between the so-called 'expert' and 'new' laboratories; this problem can be reduced with practical seminars for new centers. On the basis of the results and experience achieved the Committee is starting another program of quality assurance for different new methodologies to provide guidelines for international working reference standards.