Biobanking

Recommendations for the Establishment of a National Cancer Biobank: Report of the Expert Group on a National Cancer Biobank (May 2009) NCI Best Practices for Biospecimen Resources

In recent years, scientists have identified distinct associations between disease subtypes and variations in environment, lifestyle, and genetic predisposition. Because this emerging method of research has the potential to entirely alter the medical approach to cancer diagnosis and treatment, the Consortium has added biobanking, the collection and analysis of human tissue samples, as a primary area of support.

In 2007, the Minister for Health and Children of Ireland, Mary Harney, T.D. commissioned an Expert Group to develop proposals for a National Cancer Biobank in Ireland. The Expert Group was asked to make recommendations around terms of reference which include service delivery models, appropriate funding mechanisms, information and communication technology issues, and ethical concerns, such as patient consent and confidentiality. The Expert Group is also addressing the links that may be developed between the National Cancer Biobank and the proposed cancer biobank in Northern Ireland, with the potential of ultimately developing an all-island resource.

Upon Minister Harney’s request, National Cancer Institute (NCI) Director Dr. John Niederhuber asked Dr. Carolyn Compton, NCI Director of the Office of Biorepositories and Biospecimen Research, to serve as NCI lead representative to the Expert Group. The first meeting convened on 26 July 2007. Throughout 2007, the group met five times and made additional contributions to various meetings through invited experts.

On 10-11 December 2007, an NCI delegation traveled to Dublin, Ireland to meet with the Expert Group. The delegates attended a workshop held at the Health Research Board (HRB) offices, as well as a mini-symposium at St. James’s Hospital. These events united national and international experts to present and discuss relevant biobanking topics and develop recommendations for a range of logistic, operational, and scientific issues associated with implementing the National Cancer Biobank. Recommendations from previous Expert Group meetings informed all workshop and mini-symposium discussions. During the mini-symposium, the Expert Group had the opportunity to tour the facilities at Beaumont Hospital and the Prostate Cancer Biobank storage facility and laboratories at St. James’s Hospital. Later, participants examined and discussed biobanking from an Irish perspective, the Biobanking and Biomolecular Resources Research Infrastructure, and the Prostate Cancer Biobank. The group also reviewed a case study on the Wales Cancer Bank in relation to biobanking informatics.

After an extensive national stakeholder consultation process on the first draft of the Expert Group report, the group submitted a final report to the Minister for Health and Children of Ireland. To view the report, click here.

For more information on the Expert Group, including a list of participants and the complete Terms of Reference, please see http://www.allirelandnci.com/programs/expert_group.shtml.

To learn more about the Consortium's biobanking activities, contact our Help Desk.