Cryo-Gel embedding compound for renal biopsy biobanking.

Optimal preservation and biobanking of renal tissue is vital for good diagnostics and subsequent research. Optimal cutting temperature (OCT) compound is a commonly used embedding medium for freezing tissue samples. However, due to interfering polymers in OCT, analysis as mass spectrometry (MS) is difficult.

Biospecimens and Biobanking in Global Health.

Biobanks provide a critical infrastructure to support research in human health. Biospecimens and their accompanying data are increasingly needed to support biomedical research and clinical care. The original text was initially published in the Handbook for Cancer Research in Africa.

Diagnostic Detection of Allelic Losses and Imbalances by Next-Generation Sequencing: 1p/19q Co-Deletion Analysis of Gliomas.

Cancer cells are genomically unstable and accumulate tumor type-specific molecular aberrations, which may represent hallmarks for predicting prognosis and targets for therapy. Co-deletion of chromosomes 1p and 19q marks gliomas with an oligodendroglioma component and predicts a better prognosis and response to chemotherapy. In the current study, we present a novel method to detect chromosome 1p/19q co-deletion or loss of heterozygosity (LOH) in a diagnostic setting, based on single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis and next-generation sequencing (NGS).

Accelerating the Development and Validation of New Value-Based Diagnostics by Leveraging Biobanks.

The challenges faced in developing value-based diagnostics has resulted in few of these tests reaching the clinic, leaving many treatment modalities without matching diagnostics to select patients for particular therapies. Many patients receive therapies from which they are unlikely to benefit, resulting in worse outcomes and wasted health care resources. The paucity of value-based diagnostics is a result of the scientific challenges in developing predictive markers, specifically: (1) complex biology, (2) a limited research infrastructure supporting diagnostic development, and (3) the lack of incentives for diagnostic developers to invest the necessary resources.

Optimizing sharing of hospital biobank samples.

Implementing technical guidelines and standards as well as ways to boost cooperation should facilitate sharing of hospital biobank samples.

Post-mortem tissue biopsies obtained at minimally invasive autopsy: an RNA-quality analysis.

Introduction: Bereaved relatives often refuse to give consent for post-mortem investigation of deceased cancer patients, mainly because of the mutilation due to conventional autopsy (CA). Minimally invasive autopsy (MIA) may be a more acceptable alternative and, if implemented in clinical practice, creates an opportunity to more often obtain post-mortem tissue samples of (recurred) primary tumors and metastases for molecular research. As a measure for tissue quality for molecular studies, we hereby present a feasibility study, comparing the RNA quality of MIA and CA samples, and fresh frozen samples as reference.

A new technology for stabilization of biomolecules in tissues for combined histological and molecular analyses.

For accurate diagnosis, prediction of outcome, and selection of appropriate therapies, the molecular characterization of human diseases requires analysis of a broad spectrum of altered biomolecules, in addition to morphological features, in affected tissues such as tumors. In a high-throughput screening approach, we have developed the PAXgene Tissue System as a novel tissue stabilization technology. Comprehensive characterization of this technology in stabilized and paraffin-embedded human tissues and comparison with snap-frozen tissues revealed excellent preservation of morphology and antigenicity, as well as outstanding integrity of nucleic acids (genomic DNA, miRNA, and mRNA) and phosphoproteins.

Toward a roadmap in global biobanking for health.

Biobanks can have a pivotal role in elucidating disease etiology, translation, and advancing public health. However, meeting these challenges hinges on a critical shift in the way science is conducted and requires biobank harmonization. There is growing recognition that a common strategy is imperative to develop biobanking globally and effectively.

Biobanking residual tissues.

Health-care research relies largely on human materials stored in highly specialised biorepositories. Medical translational research on tissues can be performed using a variety of resources in distinct situations. The best known is the secondary use of pathology archives where paraffin-embedded tissues are stored for diagnostic reasons.

The Organization of European Cancer Institute Pathobiology Working Group and its support of European biobanking infrastructures for translational cancer research.

Background: Today's translational cancer research increasingly depends on international multi-center studies. Biobanking infrastructure or comprehensive sample exchange platforms to enable networking of clinical cancer biobanks are instrumental to facilitate communication, uniform sample quality, and rules for exchange.

Methods: The Organization of European Cancer Institutes (OECI) Pathobiology Working Group supports European biobanking infrastructure by maintaining the OECI-TuBaFrost exchange platform and organizing regular meetings.

Biobanking for better healthcare.

Translational cancer research is highly dependent of large series of cases including high quality samples and their associated data. Comprehensive Cancer Centers should be involved in networks to enable large-scale multi-center research projects between the centers [Ringborg, U., de Valeriola, D.

OECI TuBaFrost tumor biobanking.

OECI TuBaFrost harbors a complete infrastructure for the exchange of frozen tumor samples between European countries. OECI TuBaFrost consists of: * A code of conduct on how to exchange human residual samples in Europe, * A central database application accessible over the Internet (www.tubafrost.

Targeted disruption of the Mn1 oncogene results in severe defects in development of membranous bones of the cranial skeleton.

Fusion of the MN1 gene to TEL (ETV6) results in myeloid leukemia. The fusion protein combines the transcription activating domain of MN1 and the DNA binding domain of TEL and is thought to act as a deranged transcription factor. In addition, disruption of the large first exon of the MN1 gene is thought to inactivate MN1 function in a meningioma.

Allelic imbalance on distal 7q (7q36.1-q36.3) in gastric cardia and oesophageal (Barrett's) adenocarcinoma.

Background: Oesophageal (Barrett's) and gastric cardia adenocarcinomas are cancers arising at and around the gastro-oesophageal junction. The prognosis is poor, since detection is usually at a late stage and metastatic spread occurs early.

Materials And Methods: We investigated the 7q region with a set of 5 polymorphic markers spanning 7q36.

Allelic imbalance of 7q32.3-q36.1 during tumorigenesis in Barrett's esophagus.

Malignant transformation of Barrett's esophagus is characterized by three distinct premalignant stages: intestinal metaplasia (MET), low- (LGD), and high-grade dysplasia (HGD). We reported recently an increase in the frequency of loss of 7q33-q35 between LGD and HGD as determined by comparative genomic hybridization (P. H.