Helen Sewell Tumour Bank (HSTB)
Status
Ongoing
Intro
In 2014, Breast Cancer Research Centre-WA (BCRC-WA) launched the first breast cancer specific tumour bank in Western Australia in conjunction with Western Diagnostic Pathology (WDP).
WDP and BCRC-WA, are committed to providing a long term collaboration for the Helen Sewell Tumour Bank, which has been named in honour of a generous benefactor, Helen Sewell, whose donation enabled this project to progress from concept to reality.
Objective
The overall aim of the Tumour Bank is to improve our ability to manage breast cancer in the future.
The tumour bank will provide tissue to researchers who are involved in various aspects of breast cancer research. The nature of the research may include assessing the mechanisms by which cancer responds to or becomes resistant to therapy, how it moves in the body and how it survives in dormancy for long periods. All these aspects of research may involve evaluating the genetic material in cancer cells.
Methods
When breast cancer surgery is performed, the tissue removed is examined by a pathologist who prepares a report which is used to plan the patient’s future treatment. Only a proportion of the tissue removed is required for this process, the remainder is either stored in wax blocks in the pathology department or is discarded.
If the consenting participant has already had surgery, a small sample of breast cancer tissue and some of the normal surrounding tissue that was removed during their operation will be stored in the tumour Bank.
If the consenting participant has yet to have their biopsy/surgery, their surgeon will remove tumour tissue and some of the surrounding normal tissue. The tissue will be sent to the pathologist for analysis. Once the pathologist has made the final report, then the excess remaining tissue will be stored at the tumour bank.
