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Specimen Core
Principal Investigators:
Nancy Kiviat, MD, University of Washington
Ingegerd Hellström, MD, PhD, Pacific Northwest National Research Institute
Access to well-characterized specimens is critical to the research objectives of the SPORE program. The Specimen Core provides investigators access to a large and diverse repository of carefully collected specimens for research, as well as comprehensive information about the clinical history of women providing the specimens and detailed results about analyses conducted on every specimen. To date, the Specimen Core repository contains over 4,600 tissue specimens and 11,500 blood samples from over 1100 women.
The Specimen Core has two primary objectives. The first goal is to consistently collect and process the highest quality specimens possible, working closely with investigators to evaluate current and anticipated specimen needs and requirements. The database that supports this work, the POCRC Informatics System, serves as a foundation for communication and collaboration among all projects and cores. The second goal is to provide special services to projects. Research laboratories associated with this Core provide pathology review, antibody development, establishment and characterization of primary ovarian cancer cell cultures and cell lines, and conduct of timely assays for biomarker panel validation all of which supports various POCRC projects.
In addition to development and maintenance of a biological specimen repository, the Specimen Core includes investigators with multi-disciplinary expertise, and laboratories with strengths in research areas that are pivotal to support of translational research. Involving several different laboratories with specific expertise in assay development, biomarker validation and specimen characterization allows this Core to take full advantage of the scientific expertise available at collaborating institutions. The pooling of laboratory resources in a highly inter-related manner ensures that projects are served utilizing the most up to date technology, methods and equipment available locally.
The specific aims of the Specimen Core are to:
Specimen Review Committee
The POCRC Specimen Review Committee has developed a formal POCRC specimen use policy and specimen request process that has been very successful for the program. Co-chaired by Drs. Charles Drescher and Garnet Anderson, the committee is responsible for ensuring that proposed procedures are mutually beneficial for the surgeons, radiologists, laboratory scientists, statisticians and patients. The committee meets as needed to consider “initially promising” data submitted by outside investigators who are interested in accessing the POCRC specimen repository or require the POCRC to conduct prospective collections to meet specific needs. Key personnel such as Specimen Collection Specialists, the Repository Manager, as well as patient advocates, also participate in the specimen review process and attend committee meetings.
All successful recipients of POCRC specimens are asked to submit final reports with final data analyses obtained through use of specimens. All final reports are reviewed by committee members and the Executive Committee.Specimen Core Publications: