Biobanking in cancer research

Abstract

The availability of a biological resource such as human tissue and its derivatives for research that is fit for purpose and linked to well-annotated clinical data under approved ethical protocols is an essential facility for biomedical research, especially in the present era of personalized, translational medicine. The importance of these facilities have been recognized in the popular media with Time Magazine (2009) identifying biobanks as one of the ten tools of significance in recent times that have contributed to health and well-being [1]. Recent investments to upgrade the health department’s databases held by government and institutional registries, with electronic data mining and linkag..