The Florida Pancreas Collaborative Next-Generation Biobank: State-wide Infrastructure to Reduce Disparities and Improve Survival for a Racially and Ethnically Diverse Cohort of Patients with Pancreatic Cancer
Authors: Permuth Jennifer B. , Dezsi Kaleena B. , Vyas Shraddha , Ali Karla N. , Basinski Toni L. , Utuama Ovie A. , Denbo Jason W. , Klapman Jason , Dam Aamir , Carballido Estrella , Kim DaeWon , Pimiento Jose M. , Powers Benjamin D. , Choi Jung W. , Chen Dung-Tsa , Teer Jamie K. , Beato Francisca , Ward Alina , Cortizas Elena M. , Whisner Suzanne Y. , Williams Iverson E. , Riner Andrea N. , Tardif Kenneth , Velanovich Vic , Karachristos Andreas , Douglas Wade G. , Legaspi Adrian , Allan Bassan , Meredith Kenneth , Molina-Vega Manual A. , Bao Philip , Julien Jamii St. , Huguet Kevin L. , Green B. Lee , Odedina Folakemi T. , Kumar Nagi B. , Simmons Vani N. , George Thomas J. , Malafa Mokenge , Hodul Pamela , Arnoletti Juan P. , Awad Ziad T. , Bose Debashish , Jiang Kun , Centeno Barbara A. , Gwede Clement K. , Judge Sarah M. , Judge Andrew R. , Jeong Daniel , Bloomston Mark , Merchant Nipun B. , Fleming Jason B. , Trevino Jose G. 
Published: October 2020

Background

Well-annotated, high-quality biorepositories provide a valuable platform to support translational research and discovery. However, most biorepositories have poor representation of minority groups, limiting the ability to address cancer health disparities and improve disease outcomes. This report describes the establishment of the Florida Pancreas Collaborative (FPC), the first state-wide prospective longitudinal cohort study and biorepository specifically designed to address the higher burden of pancreatic cancer (PaCa) in African Americans (AA) compared to Non-Hispanic Whites (NHW) and Hispanic/Latinx (H/L).

Methods

We describe rationale for establishing the FPC and provide an overview of key stakeholders; study eligibility and design; ascertainment and recruitment strategies; and standard operating procedures (SOPs) developed to collect, process, store, and transfer biospecimens, medical images, and data. We also describe the customized cloud-based, secure data management platform built to facilitate recruitment, track study-related workflow, house data, and perform queries. We also present progress to date regarding recruitment and biobanking.

Results

The FPC consists of multidisciplinary teams from fifteen Florida medical institutions. From March 2019 through August 2020, 350 patients were assessed for study eligibility, 323 met inclusion/exclusion criteria, and 305 (94%) enrolled, including 228 NHW, 30 AA, and 47 H/L, with 94%, 100%, and 94% participation rates, respectively. A high percentage of participants have donated blood (87%), pancreatic tumor tissue (41%), computed tomography scans (76%), and baseline questionnaire data (62%).

Conclusions

This biorepository addresses a critical gap in PaCa research with the potential to advance basic, clinical, population-based, and translational studies intended to minimize disparities, increase quality of life, and reduce PaCa-related morbidity and mortality.

Impact

This multi-institutional infrastructure can serve as a prototype for development of similar resources across the country and disease sites.