Quality control comes in many forms in the IHC laboratory. It is important to have controls to assess the specificity of the antibodies involved. These include negative and positive tissue controls, as well as negative and positive reagent controls. There should also be controls for the system used in IHC staining itself (manual or automated).
Controls are the key to successful IHC staining. They assure quality and consistency, not only in the stain results but also in the methodology. Controls provide guidance on identifying problems; help explain what caused the problems; and help assess the competency of the equipment/personnel performing the staining. Poor quality control can lead to poor quality results. It is important to have an efficient quality management program in place for the IHC laboratory.
