Preserving potential: Surgeons as key partners in establishing a living sarcoma biobank for translational research purposes

Abstract

Background

Sarcoma is a rare type of cancer, of which over 70 distinct molecular subtypes are known. Because these tumours are so rare and complex, treatment outcomes have remained similar over the past decades and research is progressing slowly. For these rare cancers, personalised medicine and patient-derived models might pose solutions for therapeutic problems, but researchers depend on clinicians to access fresh, viable tumour tissue.

Methods

Over the past five years, a bedside-to-bench flow was implemented in Ghent University Hospital for a living biobank of sarcoma tissue to support translational research. All tumour tissue was cryopreserved in cryopreservation medium (90 % foetal bovine serum and 10 % dimethyl sulfoxide) maintaining viability of the tissue.

Results

As of July 2024, this biobank houses 217 sarcoma samples available for model development, biomarker discovery and precision medicine initiatives. The samples were collected from 167 patients, with 40 patients of whom we collected several samples throughout the disease course.

Discussion

With this article, we aim to incentivise surgeons to engage in biobanking initiatives, as they have a unique position with direct access to fresh tumour tissue. We present our biobank and clinical flow that is implemented in daily clinical practice. The primary aim of the biobank is to advance sarcoma research by creating models and sharing data with fellow researchers.