Tissue Procurement

Stanford University, Stanford CA

Investigators

Linked publications, trials & patents

Abstract

The overall objective of the Tissue Procurement Facility (TPF) is to procure and provide needed tissue specimens to Stanford Cancer Institute investigators to support their cancer-related research. TPF activities and services include collecting and banking freshly-frozen tumor and normal tissue from surgical material and autopsy specimens, providing fresh tumor tissue for viable cell studies, processing and banking blood from cancer patients, maintaining a tissue database with links to clinicopathological data, providing histological staining and pathological review, and coordinating patient consent and assuring regulatory compliance. The TPF is run by the Director, Teri Longacre, MD, Professor of Pathology. As a centralized shared resource, the TPF adds value through experience, efficiency, standardization, accountability, protection of patient confidentially and timely completion of research. In 2014, the TPF increased patient consents (2,449 compared to 1,058 in 2008), increased specimen capture to meet growing investigator needs (2,682 compared to 1,235 in 2008); expanded the new paraffin block collection and histology services to include tissue microarray construction; developed a routine protocol for collection of paired samples of pre-operative blood with each tissue specimen (plasma collections increased to 884 from 188 in 2008); initiated routine procurement of pediatric tissue specimens; and implemented the BSM module (OnCore) for data management. In 2014, the TPF provided over 1,678 fresh, frozen and formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue specimens to Stanford cancer investigators to support cutting-edge cancer research in diverse areas including cancer genomics, cancer stem cells and molecular imaging. The TPF also provides a portal to a ?virtual bank? which links inventories of specialized ?satellite? repositories, including collections of hematological and neurosurgical specimens. Since 2013, the TPF also has been contributing tumor tissue to the ?The Cancer Genome Atlas? after meeting rigorous procurement requirements.