Abstract 398: Real-life example of biobanking: results of the PATH Biobank

Abstract

Abstract Introduction: Since 2002, PATH Foundation has kept a biobank collecting high-quality fresh frozen breast cancer specimens adhering to uniform SOPs at seven certified breast cancer centres in Germany. Research groups from academia and industry can obtain samples after application and review. PATH Biobank is a not-for-profit organisation and asks for a cost recovery fee in exchange for sample allocation to sustainably finance the expenses it incurs. Material and methods: The PATH Biobank consists of a centralized database and a decentralized bio repository. The samples are collected and stored at seven institutes for pathology at certified German breast cancer centres. Tumour tissue, along with normal (benign) adjacent tissue and blood serum aliquots are processed, labelled and stored according to uniform SOPs. Informed consent to biobanking and the use of the samples and data for research is obtained from the donors individually during pre-operation discussions. Results: Since 2004, more than 8,600 breast cancer patients have given their informed consent to the storage and analysis of their tissue and blood serum for research purposes. Breast cancer tissue samples from 59% of donors could be stored due to size of the surgically removed tissue specimen. In addition, normal adjacent tissue is available from 62% of donors and blood serum aliquots can be derived from 92% of patients. Using the annotating data, 96% of donors can be classified into the intrinsic molecular breast cancer subtypes in accordance with the St. Gallen Criteria. In 2008, PATH Biobank started to support research groups by providing breast cancer samples and data as well as informing the public about the projects on-line. In 2015 three co operations resulted in scientific publications. One landmark collaborations started in 2012 and has been studying the frequency and background of defined mutations in breast cancer. A number of 701 tissue samples have been used for this study. All samples were subject to quality testing, only 11% failed due to less than 5% tumour content. Tumour content depended on clinical conditions and staging (ranging from 34% failure in samples derived from neo adjuvantly treated patients to 2% in cases with staging UICC IV). Additional results concerning the quality of samples from PATH Biobank will be presented. Conclusions: For breast cancer research and biomarker studies, PATH Biobank can be a valuable resource. Citation Format: Tobias Anzeneder, Ulla Ohlms, Heinz Bodenmüller. Real-life example of biobanking: results of the PATH Biobank. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 398.