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Epidemiology

Biorepositories for cancer research in developing countries

Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology volume 10, pages 434–436 (2013)Cite this article

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Well-documented biorepositories are essential for cancer research. Currently, major biobanks are located in the developed world, which represents the minority global population; however, countries with low-resource settings contribute more than 50% of the global cancer burden. Therefore, there is an urgent need to establish next-generation biorepositories in developing countries.

Biospecimens are a precious and irreplaceable resource for cancer research, which requires a large number of specimens in the form of well-annotated biobanks or biorepositories.1 Biobanking is the organized collection and storage of biospecimens and clinicopathological information, and is undoubtedly highly useful for the study of complex human diseases such as cancer. In addition to primary tumour specimens, biopsy of metastatic cancer is now becoming a standard procedure before second-line and salvage therapy. The specimens from these metastatic tumours are increasingly regarded as an invaluable resource for cancer research to accelerate the knowledge of intrinsic and acquired resistance to treatment.2

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge Sangeeta Desai, in charge-Tumour Tissue Repository, Tata Memorial Centre, for valuable information about the tumour tissue repository. The glioma biomarker research was supported by the Department of Biotechnology, India grant (No. BT/PR14359/MED/30/916/2010 and BT/PR13562/MED/12/451/2010).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Wadhwani Research Centre for Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai, 400 076, India

    Sandipan Ray & Sanjeeva Srivastava

  2. Department of Neurosurgery, Advanced Centre for Treatment Research and Education in Cancer, Tata Memorial Centre, Kharghar, Navi Mumbai, 410 210, India

    Aliasgar Moiyadi

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  1. Sandipan Ray
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  2. Aliasgar Moiyadi
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  3. Sanjeeva Srivastava
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Correspondence to Sanjeeva Srivastava.

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Ray, S., Moiyadi, A. & Srivastava, S. Biorepositories for cancer research in developing countries. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 10, 434–436 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrclinonc.2013.119

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