Comparison of the types of candidate reference samples for quality control of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 status detection

BACKGROUND: Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is as a target gene for trastuzumab in patients with breast cancer. Accurate determination of HER2 status and strict quality control are necessary to ensure reproducibility and accuracy of the techniques used for the determination of HER2 status. METHODS: We used three different types of samples: formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded (FFPE) samples prepared from cell lines, agarose gel samples using cell lines, and xenograft tumor samples. One cell line for FFPE or xenografts did not overexpress HER2, while the others showed different levels of HER2 overexpression. We compared the morphology, HER2 gene amplification status, and HER2 protein expression status of these samples with those of clinical specimens. RESULTS: We successfully produced three kinds of samples for quality control. Cells from the cell line-sample sections were dispersed while those from the agarose gel-sample sections and xenograft tumor sample sections (prepared from the both cell lines) were concentrated in one area. The FISH results for all three kinds of samples were as expected. The IHC results of the cell line samples and xenograft tumor samples were as expected, but the staining level of the agarose gel samples, using HER2-overexpressed cell lines was weak which might be regarded as a false negative result. CONCLUSIONS: Xenograft tumor samples might be used as an additional option for quality control in FISH and IHC. However, it might not replace the clinical specimen quality controls directly. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13000-016-0537-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.