The Human Side of Cancer Biobanking

The future success of translational research is critically dependent on the procurement and availability of high-quality tissue specimens linked to accurate histopathologic and clinical information about the individual banked specimen. The international community has awakened to this critical need only recently. Three major roadblocks have hindered the success of previous biobank consortiums: (1) Ethical issues surrounding patient consent and ownership of intellectual property, (2) Failure to properly preserve the molecular content of the tissue, and failure to reliably document clinical data linked to the specimen, and (3) Management issues: inadequate funding, competition for use of the tissue, inadequate personnel and facilities, and absence of dedicated database software. This chapter reviews these critical roadblocks and discusses international efforts to provide strategies to implement high-quality biobanks.