Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30807309›Full record

ArticleApplied immunohistochemistry & molecular morphology : AIMM

A Root Cause Analysis Into the High Error Rate in Clinical Immunohistochemistry.

Steven A Bogen

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Applied immunohistochemistry & molecular morphology : AIMM. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
14citing papers in PubMed
2.7field-weighted citation impact, top 9% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

14 citing papers in PubMed, 40 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Toward Optimizing the Impact of Digital Pathology and Augmented Intelligence on Issues of Diagnosis, Grading, Staging, and Classification.Modern pathology : an official journal of the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology, Inc · 2025
    Review
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Review
  9. Clinical Proteomics for Solid Organ Tissues.Molecular & cellular proteomics : MCP · 2023
    Article
  10. Bio-protocol · 2023
    Article
  11. A Consortium for Analytic Standardization in Immunohistochemistry.Archives of pathology & laboratory medicine · 2022
    Review
  12. Review
  13. Article
  14. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.

Steven A BogenDepartment of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Tufts Medical Center and MDP LLC, Boston, MA.
Tufts Medical Center · US

Funding

Regulatory Validation of Standardized Clinical Laboratory Immunohistochemistry ControlsR44CA213476 · NCI · BOSTON CELL STANDARDS INC · PI BOGEN, STEVEN A · 2017 to 2018
$1.5M
NCI NIH HHS R44 CA213476
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The field of Clinical Immunohistochemistry (IHC) is beset with a high error rate, an order of magnitude higher than in other types of clinical laboratory testing. Despite the many improvements in the field, these errors have persisted over the last 2 decades. The improvements over the years include an extensive literature describing the potential causes of errors and how to avoid them. More stringent regulatory guidelines have also been implemented. These measures reflect the standard view is that fixing the broad confluence of causes of error will address the problem. This review takes a different tack. To understand the high error rates, this review compares Clinical IHC laboratory practice to practices of other clinical laboratory disciplines. What aspects of laboratory testing that minimize errors in other clinical laboratory disciplines are not found in Clinical IHC? In this review, we seek to identify causal factors and underlying root causes that are unique to the field of Clinical IHC in comparison to other laboratory testing disciplines. The most important underlying root cause is the absence of traceable units of measure, international standards, calibrators that are traceable to standards, and quantitative monitoring of controls. These tools and practices (in other clinical laboratory disciplines) provide regular accurate feedback to laboratory personnel on analytic test performance.

Identifiers

PMID30807309
PMCPMC6706333
OpenAlexW2917874923

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.