Tissue Procurement

Stanford University, Stanford CA

Investigators

Linked publications, trials & patents

Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY The overall objective of the Tissue Procurement Shared Resource (TP-SR) is to procure and provide human tissue specimens to Stanford Cancer Institute (SCI) members to support their cancer-relevant research. TP-SR activities and services include collecting and banking freshly-frozen tumor and normal tissue from excess surgical material and from an autopsy, providing fresh tumor tissue for viable cell studies, processing and banking blood specimens from cancer patients, maintaining a tissue database with links to clinicopathological data, providing histological staining and pathological review services, coordinating patient consent, and assuring regulatory compliance. As a centralized shared resource, the TP-SR adds value through experience, efficiency, standardization, accountability, protection of patient confidentially, and timely completion of the research. From 2015 to 2020, the TP-SR consented over 11,000 patients, using universal consent and provided over 8,000 tissue and blood specimens to support cutting-edge cancer research in diverse areas, including cancer genomics, cancer stem, cells, and molecular imaging. The TP-SR also provides a data feed to the Stanford Cancer Institute Research Database (SCIRDB) to enable researchers to access data integration from many sources, including EPIC EHR, STARR, specialized databases in surgical pathology, and radiation oncology, and the Stanford Cancer Registry. The following are some of the TP-SR achievements. (1) The TP-SR established a collaboration with the Human Immune Monitoring Shared Resource (HIMC-SR), enabling obtaining single-cell suspensions of freshly procured surgical specimens. Over 300 fresh tissue specimens were processed in this way, fulfilling increasing demands for specimens that can be used for Immunoassays, CyTOF, flow cytometry, and genomic assays. (2) The TP-SR started providing consenting support and tissue collections for NCI’s Human Cancer Models Initiative. To date, the TP-SR has provided tissue and blood samples from more than 120 patients to this project. (3) The TP-SR started the process of merging patient consenting efforts with the Precision Health Biobank at Stanford. This initiative enables the TP-SR to capture more patients and eases the consenting burden of individual patients. (4) The TP-SR established a new protocol for electronic patient consenting via iPad—a joint effort with the Precision Health Biobank, which will allow for the consenting of a broader range of patients and improve the opportunity for clinic-based consenting. Members of all programs regularly use the TP-SR, with the heaviest use coming from the Cancer Biology and Cancer Stem Cells and Cancer Therapeutics programs. In 2020, 80% of users were SCI investigators. The TP- SR contributed to 40 cancer-focused publications (18 high-impact). The annual budget of the TP-SR is $787,997, yet the CCSG request is $248,725. Accordingly, the TB-SR leverages institutional support and seeks 32% from CCSG funds.