# Publish each laboratory's biomarker proficiency results

Source: https://onco.cc/ideas/idea-tr2-eqa-public-results/  
OnCo record `idea-tr2-eqa-public-results` (Idea). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Labs already get tested on whether they score biomarkers correctly, but the results are private. Publishing them would let hospitals and patients avoid labs that get it wrong.

## Summary

External quality assessment schemes (NordiQC, UK NEQAS, CAP) show that a meaningful fraction of laboratories fail proficiency runs for HER2, PD-L1, ALK and other predictive markers. Results are confidential. Mandatory participation for any laboratory running companion diagnostics and public reporting of pass rates by laboratory, as is done for hospital infection rates, would create accountability and steer referrals.

## Fields

- Kind: Idea
- Last checked: 2026-09-08
- Hypothesis: Public reporting will raise the proportion of laboratories passing predictive-marker EQA runs above 95% within three years, and reduce the between-laboratory variation in positivity rates.
- Rationale: Public performance reporting improved outcomes in cardiac surgery and hospital-acquired infections. Laboratory medicine has the data and has resisted transparency.
- Proposed test: Publish results for one marker in one country; measure pass rates and referral shifts over two years.
- Maturity: early-clinical
- Actor: regulator

## Sources

- UK NEQAS: https://ukneqas.org.uk/
- NordiQC: https://www.nordiqc.org/

## Connected records

- ideas: [Calibrated reference slides so every lab scores HER2-low the same way](https://onco.cc/ideas/idea-tr2-her2-low-reference-materials/), [Monitor biomarker positivity rates across labs in real time to catch assay drift](https://onco.cc/ideas/idea-tr2-positivity-rate-surveillance/), [Record how long tissue waited before fixation in every pathology report](https://onco.cc/ideas/idea-tr2-preanalytics-in-report/)
- technologies: [Companion diagnostics](https://onco.cc/technologies/companion-diagnostic/), [Histopathology & immunohistochemistry](https://onco.cc/technologies/histopathology-ihc/)
- bottlenecks: [Biomarkers are not validated or standardised](https://onco.cc/bottlenecks/b-biomarker-validation/), [Fragmented care and guideline gaps](https://onco.cc/bottlenecks/b-care-fragmentation/)

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