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Biosamples are biologically derived materials, such as tissue, blood and urine, used for diagnosis and analysis. When cancer patients undergo procedures such as biopsy or surgery in which tumours are removed for diagnostic or treatment purposes, it is often possible for a small amount of the sample to be stored and used later in cancer research. Over many years, many patients have given consent for their biosamples to be used in research, in the hope that the resulting knowledge might help other patients in the future.
The range of human biosamples used in cancer research is diverse. Examples include:
- Biopsies of solid tumours (generally small tumours);
- Surgical removal of solid tumours (generally larger in size);
- Blood samples and fractions of blood separated from whole blood;
- Fine needle suction biopsies of solid tumours (very small quantities);
- Fine needle suctions of body fluids, other than blood, including the fluids in body cavities, joints, abscesses, cysts, “collections” in body spaces, etc (these are variable in volume);
- Collections of secreted or waste body fluids, including urine, sputum, saliva, tears, etc;
- Cells shed or scraped from body surfaces including, skin scrapes, buccal scrapes, corneal/conjunctival scrapes, cervical smears, surface imprints, faeces, etc;
- Hair, nail, teeth, skin debris.
Some biosamples for research are relatively easy to collect, such as hair, nail clippings and urine. Others can only be collected through an invasive procedure. With simple procedures, such as a blood test, samples may be taken as part of routine healthcare or through a one-off extra procedure. Complex procedures, such as surgical removal of tumour tissue, are only performed in the interests of the patient’s health. Tissue is removed for diagnosis or treatment, and any of this tissue that is not required for the patient’s care could then be used for research with the patient’s consent.
There are some biosamples that may only be obtained from a deceased donor, such as tissue from a tumour that was not removed by surgery.
At present, onCore UK can accept donations of blood and tumour tissue from living donors. Our website and information resources will be updated should this change.
Biosamples are precious and must be looked after carefully before, during and after use. Dedicated biosample “libraries” are called “biobanks”, “biosample resources” or “biorepositories”. There are hundreds of biobanks in the UK, which vary widely in size, biosample type and purpose. These biobanks make significant contributions to cancer research yet there is a need for a national biosample and information resource to help cancer researchers progress even further, and onCore UK fulfills this role.
Modern science is at a very exciting moment following the completion of the initial sequencing of the Human Genome in 2001. Scientists are now turning to the study of diseases at the most basic “molecular” or “biochemical” levels, by identifying genes and their function, and understanding the role special molecules play in the origin and progression of disease. These emerging fields of study are thought to be keys for finding new means of preventing, diagnosing or treating diseases such as cancer.
Human biosamples can provide a bridge between laboratory research and clinical information about actual patients. It does this by enabling researchers to study the characteristics of a cancer, and to link those with what is known about the clinical behaviour of the cancer.
Specifically, human biosamples can be used to identify and test new drugs; identify how cancers develop; identify and test new ways to screen for or diagnose specific types of cancer; identify groups of patients likely to respond to new drugs or experience side-effects from drugs; identify groups of patients and predict which type of treatment is right for them.
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