Abstract
The growing interest in the molecular subclassification of colorectal cancers is increasingly facilitated by large multicenter biobanking initiatives. The quality of tissue sampling is pivotal for successful translational research. This study shows the quality of fresh frozen tissue sampling within a multicenter cohort study for colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. Each of the seven participating hospitals randomly contributed ten tissue samples, which were collected following Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) using established techniques. To indicate if the amount of intact RNA is sufficient for molecular discovery research and prove SOP compliance, the RNA integrity number (RIN) was determined. Samples with a RIN < 6 were measured a second time and when consistently low a third time. The highest RIN was used for further analysis. 91% of the tissue samples had a RIN ≥ 6 (91%). The remaining six samples had a RIN between 5 and 6 (4.5%) or lower than 5 (4.5%). The median overall RIN was 7.3 (range 2.9–9.0). The median RIN of samples in the university hospital homing the biobank was 7.7 and the median RIN for the teaching hospitals was 7.3, ranging from 6.5 to 7.8. No differences were found in the outcome of different hospitals (p = 0.39). This study shows that the collection of high quality fresh frozen samples of colorectal cancers is feasible in a multicenter design with complete SOP adherence. Thus, using basic sampling techniques large patient cohorts can be organized for predictive and prognostic (bio)marker research for CRC.
Highlights
The growing interest in the molecular subclassification of colorectal cancers is increasingly facilitated by large multicenter biobanking initiatives
This study shows that the collection of high quality fresh frozen samples of colorectal cancers is feasible in a multicenter design with complete Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) adherence
This study shows that the collection of high quality fresh frozen samples of colorectal cancer (CRC) is feasible in a multicenter design including hospitals for which fresh frozen tissue sampling is not part of the daily routine
Summary
The growing interest in the molecular subclassification of colorectal cancers is increasingly facilitated by large multicenter biobanking initiatives. This study shows the quality of fresh frozen tissue sampling within a multicenter cohort study for colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. 10% of the fresh frozen tissue samples collected for research purposes are unsuitable for molecular analyses This is due to multiple non-modifiable factors such as tissue type, intrinsic patient factors, warm ischemia time (extraction of the resection specimen after ligation of the large vessels) and modifiable factors such as cold ischemia time (tissue transport from the operating theatre to the pathology lab), the conservation (fixation/stabilization) method, subsequent transport and the storage of the tissue samples (Boudou-Rouquette et al 2010; Qualman et al 2004). The RNA Integrity Number (RIN), first described in 2006, is currently a common standard used to assess tissue quality (Schroeder et al 2006). The current study assessed the tissue quality of the MATCH study, a multicenter cohort study in the region of Rotterdam, the Netherlands, enrolling patients with CRC and obtaining fresh frozen tissue samples in one university hospital with experience in tissue sampling and storage by dedicated personnel, and in six non-university teaching hospitals that are not used to nor standardly equipped and staffed for routine fresh frozen tissue sampling
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