Pathology as the cornerstone of human tissue banking: European consensus expert group report.
Aside from ethical considerations, the primary requirement for usage of human tissues in basic or translational research is the thorough characterization of tissues. The second, but equally essential, requirement is that tissues be collected, processed, annotated, and preserved in optimal conditions. These requirements put the pathologist at the center of tissue banking activities and of research aimed at discovering new biomarkers. Pathologists not only provide information identifying the specimen but also make decisions on what materials should be biobanked, on the preservation conditions, and on the timeline of events that precede preservation and storage. This central position calls for increased recognition of the role of the pathologist by the biomolecular community and places new demands on the pathologist's workload and scope of scientific activities. These questions were addressed by an Expert Group Meeting of the European Biological and Biomolecular Research Infrastructure (BBMRI). While detailed recommendations are published elsewhere (Bevilacqua et al., Virchows Archivs, 2010, in press), this article outlines the strategic and technological issues identified by the Expert Group and identifies ways forward for better integration of pathology in the current thrust for development of biomarker-based "personalized medicine."
1 International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) , Lyon, France .
Pierre
P
Hainaut
Elodie
E
Caboux
Generoso
G
Bevilacqua
Fref
F
Bosman
Thibaut
T
Dassesse
Heinz
H
Hoefler
Anne
A
Janin
Rupert
R
Langer
Denis
D
Larsimont
Manuel
M
Morente
Peter
P
Riegman
Peter
P
Schirmacher
Giorgio
G
Stanta
Kurt
K
Zatloukal