Why do we need a Tissue Bank?

Why do we need a Tissue Bank?

Dr Samar Issa

Haematologist

When a cancer tissue is removed in surgery it will be carefully examined to determine its characteristics. Only a small piece of the tissue removed is used for confirming the disease diagnosis. The rest is left unused and is typically discarded. This tissue can help us learn many things about cancer, its treatment and its cause. Tissue preserved in a tissue bank is the single most valuable resource for cancer research.

Researchers studying these tissue samples could identify genes controlling cancer growth and metastases. The information we gain from a cancer tissue bank may lead to the development of new cancer-fighting drugs and better diagnostic tests. We could also create a comprehensive database with critical information on cancers that affect New Zealanders. In this country we have a unique combination of different ethnic groups. We know that cancer behaves differently in different ethnic groups. There are published data on the behaviour of different cancers in African Americans, Hispanics & South East Asians but little is published on the behaviour of cancer in Pacific Islanders or Maori. Some blood cancers are less prevalent in this ethnic group, like Lymphoma; others behave differently, like Myeloma or Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia. By studying the tumour tissue we will know how cancer behaves and then treatments and even a cure might be possible. Breakthrough solutions will come from skilled research scientists working in modern laboratories with access to large selections of cancerous tissue samples.

Stored cancer tissues will be available as frozen sections to scientists interested in obtaining samples. Researchers must submit a formal request to the Tissue Bank and sign a Usage Agreement. A scientific committee of the Tissue Bank will determine the scientific merit of each request and prioritise for optimal use of the tissue.

The Tissue Bank goals are to:

• Provide scientists access to the vast amount of cancer tissue samples required to support clinical research projects;
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• Focus on understanding why particular cancers behave differently different ethnic groups;
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• Serve as a magnet to attract talented scientists to the area;
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• Identify genes controlling cancer growth;
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• Develop new cancer fighting drugs and better diagnostic tests;
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• Create a comprehensive, nationwide database with information specific to cancers common in New Zealanders.
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Patients who are willing to cooperate sign a document of informed consent, indicating their approval that tissue remaining after histopathological diagnosis may be used for research purposes. In no case will the correct diagnosis of a sample be compromised or special or additional manoeuvres carried out on the patient, because of the collection of material for the Tissue Bank. We will go to great lengths to safeguard the privacy of individuals contributing tissue samples to the Bank. No information that permits the identification of the patient is sent to the central database.

Translational research has been a buzzword for several years now. “Translational research includes two areas of translation. One is the process of applying discoveries generated during research in the laboratory, and in preclinical studies, to the development of trials and studies in humans. The second area of translation concerns research aimed at enhancing the adoption of best practices in the community.” Translational research takes discoveries made in the laboratory and shapes them into potential new treatments or diagnostic tests that, in time, could help patients. It applies the knowledge gained by doing basic research. Just like basic research, translational research is usually carried out in a laboratory. The results from translational studies can tell researchers if a new treatment or test should be tried in people.

For example, sometimes chemotherapy drugs that are used to treat cancer fail to work in individual patients. Cancers develop from normal cells that have undergone changes to their DNA. Additional changes, or mutations, can occur as the cancer grows making the cancer cells more and more abnormal. Eventually these mutations may stop the cancer cells responding to the treatments meant to kill them. This is called ‘drug resistance’. Scientists wanted to know how bowel cancers become resistant to chemotherapy. They generated bowel cancer cells which can be grown in the laboratory and don't respond to different chemotherapy drugs. Then they examined the proteins in these cells to find out what it is that stops them responding to a particular treatment. They identified a number of proteins that are only made by the drug-resistant cells. The presence or absence of these proteins could be tested to predict if a patient will respond to treatment. This will help doctors decide the best approach for treating individual bowel cancer patients.

Translational research takes discoveries made in the laboratory and shapes them into potential new treatments or diagnostic tests that would eventually save lives, hence the importance of establishing a Tissue Bank.

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