The Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Tissue Bank at the IU Simon Cancer Center: The Source for Normal Breast Tissue and Biospecimens.
Authors: Clare S. , Sun J. , Henry J. , Mathieson T. , Mitchum P. , Badve S. , Rufenbarger C. , Rufenbarger C. , Storniolo A. 
Published: December 2010

Background: Our efforts to prevent and treat breast cancer are significantly impeded by a lack of knowledge of the biology and developmental genetics of the normal mammary gland. This ignorance has been the consequence of the lack of access to richly annotated, high quality normal breast specimens. To provide the specimens that will enable the study of normal mammary development and to provide normal controls for breast cancer research, the Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Tissue Bank at the IU Simon Cancer Center (KTB) was established. The KTB is a repository of specimens from volunteer donors with no clinical evidence of breast malignancy. The purpose of this presentation is to increase the awareness of this unique and rich research resource and to actively solicit the use of its specimens.Methods: The initial collection venue was the 2005 Komen Indianapolis Race for the Cure® at which whole blood was collected, and processed for DNA. The collection of serum began one year later. The KTB has been prospectively banking fresh frozen breast tissue since mid-2006. Plasma processing began in 2008. These specimens are richly annotated with detailed information regarding the donors' reproductive history, medical history, family history, and medications. Standard Operating Procedures have been constructed so as to control, limit and identify potential sources of bias. All of this information is recorded in an Oracle-based, searchable database.There are five, straight-forward steps to submit a proposal for specimen access: 1. Generate a hypothesis and design a study to test the hypothesis; 2. Perform a preliminary statistical analysis to determine the number of samples needed to test the hypothesis; 3. Access the Komen Tissue Bank on-line and determine if the Bank has the type and number of specimens to fulfill your research needs. A sample/data search can be performed on-line at https://komentissuebank.iu.edu/search; 4. Obtain IRB approval from your institution and secure funding for your research project; 5. Submit your proposal to the KTB using the on-line form. Deadlines are February 1, June 15 and October 15 yearly. Proposals are reviewed by the Proposal Review Committee, composed of internal and external scientific experts and patient advocates. Additional information can be found on the KTB website: https://komentissuebank.iu.edu/research.Results: As of June 2009, the KTB and its predecessor bank, Mary Ellen's Bank, have available fresh frozen breast tissue (10 gauge cores) from 508 individual donors, DNA from 2524, serum from 1360 and plasma from 1438 donors.Figure 1 Life-time risk of the development of breast cancer calculated using the Gail Model for tissue donors to the KTB. x-axis: % lifetime risk, y-axis number of tissue donors, each line =10Conclusions: The KTB is a unique and invaluable research resource which is now open for business and accessible to researchers across the globe. We encourage researchers to avail themselves of this unique tissue resource and to also acquaint themselves with other sources of healthy breast tissue, i.e., the Love/Avon Army of Women [http://www.armyofwomen.org/].

Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(24 Suppl):Abstract nr 3076.