WHAT SAMPLES ARE SENT TO THE BIOSPECIMEN RESOURCE?
At the time of the patient’s surgery or biopsy, when tumor/tissue is removed, tissue is sent to the institution’s pathology department for routine testing and diagnosis. After that process is completed, the remaining tumor samples are stored in the pathology department. The patient is being asked for permission to use the remainder of the tumor samples for additional research. Since this tissue is removed at the time of surgery or biopsy, the permission to use this tissue will not lead to any additional procedures or expense. In addition, in some clinical trials, patients are asked to submit serum (blood) samples, which are frozen and stored at the Biospecimen Resource. Upon receipt, the serum samples are labeled with the study and case numbers only. These numbers then will continue to be the only identifiers associated with these specimens.
