Biospecimen Collection and Banking Core

IU Simon Cancer Center

Dr. Anna Maria Storniolo

Dr. Kathy Miller

Dr. George Sandusky

http://www.cancer.iu.edu/tissue

The IUSCCC Biospecimen Collection and Banking Core (BC²) offers a suite of services related to biospecimen and data collection in support of cancer research. Formed in 2021, four distinct service lines, each with its own specialty, were joined as part of an effort to best serve cancer center members. The collection comprises:

• the Tissue Procurement and Distribution Core 
• the Komen Tissue Bank (the only known global biorepository that collects, stores, and annotates healthy breast tissue and blood to be used as normal controls);  
• the Oncology Research Information Exchange Network (ORIEN; a national consortium of cancer centers forming a collaborative partnership dedicated to accelerating cancer research);  
• the Clinical Trials Office (CTO) Biospecimen Lab Tech group (providing specimen collection/distribution support for all trials handled by the CTO and the IUSCCC). 

The core provides an extensive collection of well-annotated samples from patients with malignancy and normal controls to support studies exploring the biologic basis of cancer, move basic findings to the clinic, and probe the biology underlying clinical and population phenomena.

BC² aims to provide well-annotated, diverse, high quality biologic material and data to support basic and translational cancer research; to coordinate procurement, processing, storage, and management of tissue samples collected in conjunction with therapeutic and correlative solid tumor clinical trials; to develop and maintain tissue microarrays (TMA) to support biomarker research; and to collaborate with investigators to provide support (collection, processing, storage) for “protected collections” of samples to be used by specific IUSCCC researchers.

• Core Policies

• collects fresh, frozen, and formalin fixed paraffin-embedded malignant solid tumors as well as histologically normal adjacent tissue;  

• collects whole blood, plasma, serum and cellular components;  

• collects bone marrow aspirate and core biopsy; urine, pleural and ascites fluid; 

• supports immediate access to surgical and other clinical areas for sample collection within multiple facilities including IU Health University Hospital, IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center, IU Health Riley Hospital, IU Health North Hospital, and Eskenazi Health.

• provides clinical annotation associated with collected samples, including demographics, medical, family, and social history, medical treatment, pathological diagnosis, and ancillary studies; 

• can collect additional data, including aggregation of genic data, from consented patients should it be required by an approved project; 

• facilitates translational research within ORIEN; 

• assists with tissue procurement, processing, storage, and shipping of sample collections embedded in therapeutic and correlative solid tumor clinical trials.  

• Pam Rockey : canctb@indianapolis.iu.edu 317-278-9006