Benchmarking trials for clinical tests based on next-generation sequencing for (hemato-)oncology within Belgium

Three benchmarking trials performed during the period 2017-2018 aiming at establishing the state-of-the-art and setting up an NGS-specific EQA program at national level in the field of clinical (hemato-) oncology in Belgium. DNA samples derived from cell line mixes and artificially mutated cell lines, designed to carry variants of clinical relevance occurring in solid tumors, hematological malignancies and BRCA1 / BRCA2 genes, were sent to Belgian human genetics, anatomic pathology and clinical biology laboratories to be processed following routine practices for reporting and interpretation of such variants, together with surveys covering technical aspects of the NGS workflows.