title: The Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer (PLCO) Screening Trial Pathology Tissue Resource.
abstract: Pathology tissue specimens with associated epidemiologic and clinical data are valuable for cancer research. The Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial undertook a large-scale effort to create a public resource of pathology tissues from PLCO participants who developed a cancer during the trial.
  
  
  
  Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue blocks were obtained from pathology laboratories on a loan basis for central processing of tissue microarrays, with additional free-standing tissue cores collected for nucleic acid extraction.
  
  
  
  Pathology tissue specimens were obtained for prostate cancer (n = 1,052), lung cancer (n = 434), colorectal cancer (n = 675) and adenoma (n = 658), ovarian cancer and borderline tumors (n = 212), breast cancer (n = 870), and bladder cancer (n = 204). The process of creating this resource was complex, involving multidisciplinary teams with expertise in pathology, epidemiology, information technology, project management, and specialized laboratories.
  
  
  
  Creating the PLCO tissue resource required a multistep process, including obtaining medical records and contacting pathology departments where pathology materials were stored after obtaining necessary patient consent and authorization. The potential to link tissue biomarkers to prospectively collected epidemiologic information, screening and clinical data, and matched blood or buccal samples offers valuable opportunities to study etiologic heterogeneity, mechanisms of carcinogenesis, and biomarkers for early detection and prognosis.
  
  
  
  The methods and protocols developed for this effort, and the detailed description of this resource provided here, will be useful for those seeking to use PLCO pathology tissue specimens for their research and may also inform future tissue collection efforts in other settings. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 25(12); 1635-42. ©2016 AACR.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cancer Prevention, NCI, Bethesda, Maryland. zhucla@mail.nih.gov.
authors.forename: Claire S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, NCI, Bethesda, Maryland.
authors.forename: Wen-Yi
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Division of Cancer Prevention, NCI, Bethesda, Maryland.
authors.forename: Paul F
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Pinsky
authors.affiliation: Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, NCI, Bethesda, Maryland.
authors.forename: Christine D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Berg
authors.affiliation: Division of Cancer Prevention, NCI, Bethesda, Maryland.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sherman
authors.affiliation: Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, NCI, Bethesda, Maryland.
authors.forename: Kelly J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, NCI, Bethesda, Maryland.
authors.forename: Danielle M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Carrick
authors.affiliation: Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, NCI, Bethesda, Maryland.
authors.forename: Amanda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Black
authors.affiliation: Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, NCI, Bethesda, Maryland.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hoover
authors.affiliation: Clinical Research Directorate/Clinical Monitoring Research Program, Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc., NCI Campus at Frederick, Frederick, Maryland.
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lenz
authors.affiliation: Information Management Services, Inc., Rockville, Maryland.
authors.forename: Craig
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: Information Management Services, Inc., Rockville, Maryland.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hawkins
authors.affiliation: Information Management Services, Inc., Rockville, Maryland.
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chaloux
authors.affiliation: Westat, Rockville, Maryland.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yurgalevitch
authors.affiliation: Westat, Rockville, Maryland.
authors.forename: Sunitha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mathew
authors.affiliation: Westat, Rockville, Maryland.
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: Westat, Rockville, Maryland.
authors.forename: Vanessa
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Olivo
authors.affiliation: Westat, Rockville, Maryland.
authors.forename: Asia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.affiliation: University of Colorado Cancer Center, Aurora, Colorado.
authors.forename: Shannon M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Pretzel
authors.affiliation: Marshfield Clinic, Marshfield, Wisconsin.
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Multerer
authors.affiliation: University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Beckmann
authors.affiliation: Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, Michigan.
authors.forename: Karen G
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Broski
authors.affiliation: Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, NCI, Bethesda, Maryland.
authors.forename: Neal D
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Freedman
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D018070:Biological Specimen Banks; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology*; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D001749:Urinary Bladder Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology