Support for Human Specimen Banking in NCI-Supported Cancer Clinical Trials

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Tissue Banks of the Children's Oncology Group have an opportunity to significantly advance pediatric cancer research, in part via the resources provided by this U24 application, in the next 5-year grant cycle. Historically, the banking track record of the COG has been outstanding, producing nearly 300 publications based on biologic specimens since the group was created in March 2003. The goal of the COG in this RFA is to approach biologic cancer specimen procurement as an effort that is nearpopulation-based, similar to the enrollment seen with pediatric clinical cancer trials. This goal will become more achievable as more COG therapy becomes risk-based with inclusion of molecular parameters, as we currently see with ALL, neuroblastoma and Wilms tumor (where specimen procurement rates approach 80 to 90 percent of the clinical population). Soft tissue sarcomas are currently evolving toward such molecular-based risk-stratification for treatment purposes. It is anticipated that such an evolution toward molecular/risk-based therapy will lead to at least a 50 percent procurement rate of specimens for all pediatric cancer patients in the next grant cycle. This should produce some 160,000 specimens obtained from more than 18,000 patients. This procurement will be facilitated by sophisticated procurement kits, detailed bioinformatics for specimen inventory and tracking, group-wide educational seminars (particularly for clinical research associates), and new technologies (virtual microscopy, tissue microarrays). Molecular analysis of tissues will significantly improve quality assurance efforts directed toward improving specimen procurement, storage and delivery. Our Specific Aims are as follows: 1. Establish collection, storage and quality control procedures for tissue banking in pediatric cancer patients that are near-population-based. 2. Ensure proper storage and quality control procedures for pediatric tissue bank specimens that promote outstanding retrospective translational research. 3. Ensure proper administration of tissue bank resources to facilitate investigator access to specimens. 4. Promote linkage of tissue bank resources to existing demographic, clinical, biological, treatment and outcome data. 5. Optimize utilization of finite tissue bank resources utilizing emerging technologies.