The Janus Serum Bank: forward thinking allows retrospective analysis

Abstract

Named after the two-faced Roman god, the Janus Serum Bank symbolizes the possibility of looking for the causes of disease both retrospectively and prospectively. This vital biomedical resource was highlighted in a recent JAMA publication that linked Chlamydia trachomatis serotype and cervical squamous cell carcinoma [Anttila, T. et al. (2001) JAMA 285, 47–51]. Under the control of the Norwegian Cancer Society, the bank consists of 600 000 serum samples obtained from 300 000 Norwegians during medical examinations and when donating blood. Most individuals have a time-course of sera in the bank (up to 12 samples). The Janus project currently cooperates with groups from Scandinavia, the UK, Germany, the US and Australia. Researchers can obtain between 500 to 3000 samples for projects; each sample from a patient comes with three healthy age- and sex-matched controls. The samples are coded for anonymity and the experiments are done ‘blind’ – which samples are from controls and which from patients are only revealed once the results are in. Full details about the project and how to apply for samples are given on the Norweigan Cancer Societies website (http://www.kreft.no/forhelsepersonell/janusserumbank/english/). SG.