Tumour Bank, Oncology Research Unit, Children’s
Hospital at Westmead (CHW), Locked Bag 4001, Westmead, 2145, NSW.
Tissue
banks are powerful resources for the research community. To be effective they
need to offer: efficient tissue collection and storage strategies; transparent
regulatory frameworks; rational sample distribution to researchers. Since 1998,
the CHW Tumour Bank has demonstrated that these goals are achievable in the
sensitive domain of childhood malignancy.
Our
bank is dedicated solely to collecting samples from paediatric oncology cases
presenting within CHW. Many of these malignancies
are rare in order to accumulate significant sample numbers we must ensure that for
every patient specimens are collected and informed consent
for use obtained. This requires efficient
mechanisms regarding
sample collection and consenting and requires a multidisciplinary approach.
Specimens
are collected for “unspecified research” with only a small number of samples
being retained as part of particular clinical trials. To operate
effectively and maximise sample uptake it has been essential to build strong
functional relationships with associated hospital departments. Representatives
from these departments are appointed members of the Tumour Bank Committee. With
this comes a sense of ownership, involvement and a willingness to support our
activities.
The
nature of paediatrics means that sample size is small; it is a continuing
challenge to develop the best use of our tissue to maximise this resource.
Advances in molecular biology mean that often only small amounts of tissue or
extracted DNA/RNA are necessary, so we have developed methods with this in
mind. Future directions will enable us
to use laser capture microscopy to supply individual cells dissected from a
tumour mass. We also plan to provide
tissue arrays of archived paediatric tumours, which is currently a scant
resource.
The
consenting process in paediatric oncology is particularly sensitive. To assist in this a Tumour Bank staff member
personally speaks to the families. We
have developed a biannual newsletter as an aid to this; the newsletter also
serves to provide regular updates to all Oncology patients and staff – which helps to keep us in the public eye – a sometimes difficult
task for a research department.