Biospecimen Data Reporting in the Research Literature.

A substantial fraction of biomedical research depends on the reliability of human biospecimens but variations in sample manipulation during collection, processing, and storage can differentially alter molecular integrity and influence interpretation of the resulting derived data. Details of biobanking processes are rarely adequately described in research publications, preventing reviewers, readers, and scientists seeking to replicate the findings, from appreciating and adequately considering preanalytical variations contributing to results. To address these shortcomings, a set of reporting guidelines, the Biospecimen Reporting for Improved Study Quality (BRISQ) criteria, were developed in 2011.

Business Planning for a Campus-Wide Biobank.

Biobanks are resources that facilitate research. Many biobanks exist around the world, but most tend to focus on a specific disease or research area. BC Children's Hospital and BC Women's Hospital are located on the same campus (Oak Street Campus) in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Impact of a Permission to Contact (PTC) platform on biobank enrollment and efficiency.

The consent process involves three steps; referral for contact, preliminary interview, and informed consent discussion. We propose that the efficiency and frequency of the consent process for individual biobank related projects increases when the referral for contact is conducted by an independent "Permission to Contact" (PTC) platform within a health research organization. A PTC platform established at our center in 2007 obtains "permission to be contacted about future cancer research" from approximately 1200 patients annually.

Permission to contact (PTC)--a strategy to enhance patient engagement in translational research.

Unlabelled: Improving patient recruitment and consent to participate in clinical studies is an important issue. The process of consent involves three steps: patient referral for contact, the preliminary interview to determine patient interest, and the informed consent discussion. We hypothesized that putting the first step of the consent process into a 'Permission to Contact' (PTC) platform would improve patient engagement, would improve the efficiency of the other steps of the process, and would be acceptable to diverse patient groups.

A framework for biobank sustainability.

Each year funding agencies and academic institutions spend millions of dollars and euros on biobanking. All funding providers assume that after initial investments biobanks should be able to operate sustainably. However the topic of sustainability is challenging for the discipline of biobanking for several major reasons: the diversity in the biobanking landscape, the different purposes of biobanks, the fact that biobanks are dissimilar to other research infrastructures and the absence of universally understood or applicable value metrics for funders and other stakeholders.

Biospecimen use correlates with emerging techniques in cancer research: impact on planning future biobanks.

The average cohort size for tissue biospecimens used in cancer research studies has increased significantly over the last 20 years. To understand some of the factors behind changes in biospecimen use, we examined cancer research publications to characterize the relationship between specific assay techniques and biospecimen formats and products. We assessed a representative cross section of 378 publications in the journal Cancer Research that used tissue biospecimens, selected from 6 intervals between 1988 and 2010.

An online tool for improving biospecimen data element reporting.

Detailed documentation of the experimental materials and methods is essential for the validation of scientific papers. Human biospecimens are increasingly utilized as materials in cancer research and information about the biospecimens used is a component of this documentation. We hypothesized that previously reported biospecimen data are inadequate for accurate replication and/or validation of a substantial proportion of studies.

Certification for biobanks: the program developed by the Canadian Tumour Repository Network (CTRNet).

Two core aspects of the discipline of biobanking are biospecimen quality and good governance. Meeting the demands of both sample quality and governance can be challenging, especially in a resource limited environment. Frequently, differences between biobank processes reduce the ability for cooperative action and specimen sharing with researchers.

An essential role for MCL-1 in ATR-mediated CHK1 phosphorylation.

Here we report a novel role for myeloid cell leukemia 1 (Mcl-1), a Bcl-2 family member, in regulating phosphorylation and activation of DNA damage checkpoint kinase, Chk1. Increased expression of nuclear Mcl-1 and/or a previously reported short nuclear form of Mcl-1, snMcl-1, was observed in response to treatment with low concentrations of etoposide or low doses of UV irradiation. We showed that after etoposide treatment, Mcl-1 could coimmunoprecipitate with the regulatory kinase, Chk1.

In vitro anti-proliferative and antioxidant studies on Devil's Club Oplopanax horridus.

Devil's Club, Oplopanax horridus (OH), is a widely used folk medicine in Alaska and British Columbia for treating a variety of ailments including arthritis, fever and diabetes. HPLC profiling shows that numerous compounds are present in the 70% ethanolic extract of OH dry root bark powder. OH extract inhibited K562, HL60, MCF7 and MDA-MB-468 cell growth with the 50% inhibition (IC(50)) estimated at 1/2700, 1/1700, 1/500 and 1/2500 dilutions, respectively.