Abstract 5149: Translating biospecimen science research results to improved biospecimen practices.

Proceedings: AACR 104th Annual Meeting 2013; Apr 6-10, 2013; Washington, DC Cancer tissues and blood are collected, processed and stored in different ways, across the country and across the world. Biospecimen Science is the study of how different methods of biospecimen collection, processing, and storage affect downstream analysis. The NCI Biospecimen Research Network (BRN) program sponsors, conducts, and collaborates on Biospecimen Science research to better understand how biospecimen pre-analytical factors influence the molecular integrity of biospecimens, and in turn, how such variation affects the reproducibility of research results. New data on how pre-analytical variation affects molecular integrity will support best practice Standard Operating Procedures for research and clinical trials biospecimens. This presentation will focus on results from the first phase of the BRN program and current efforts to translate research results to evidence-based biospecimen practices. A summary of research results will be presented from several research studies which have performed systematic perturbations of blood and tissue collection and processing procedures, with subsequent molecular analysis. We will also present an overview of the Biospecimen Research Database (BRD; https://brd.nci.nih.gov), developed to improve access to the literature in Biospecimen Science. The BRD is a free and publicly accessible web-based database that currently contains over 1500 review and research articles covering a broad range of topics spanning the biospecimen lifecycle. Articles are meticulously categorized and annotated by a team of Ph.D. level scientists according to the type of biospecimen and technology platform used, the experimental variables investigated, and many other parameters. Progress will be described on a new approach to perform meta-analyses of the literature evidence related to different tissue preservation methodologies, such as freezing and temperature storage methods and formalin fixation and paraffin embedding. In addition, we will describe current progress on the development of evidence-based biospecimen practices based on BRN research results, literature evidence, and expert input. Citation Format: Helen M. Moore, Kelly Engel, Sarah Greytak, B. Paige Bass, Jim Vaught. Translating biospecimen science research results to improved biospecimen practices. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 5149. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-5149