About the Tissue Bank
"There is every possibility that information or findings made possible by The Wesley Research Institute Tissue Bank will lead to the next big breakthrough in the fight against cancer." Professor Julie Campbell.
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What is a Tissue Bank?
A Tissue Bank is a facility that stores ethically obtained human tissue accompanied by full clinical data. This is an invaluable resource to researchers in their quest to unravel the cause of disease and identify potential treatments.
Potential outcomes from tissue research include:
- Finding potential causes of cancer or predisposing to cancer and other diseases
- Developing vaccines, drugs or other treatments for cancer and other diseases
- Determining how drugs or other treatments work and how cancer cells behave
- Determining how cancer and other diseases affects populations
Currently, the absence of large, high quality cancer tissue and blood collections with clinical data is a major impediment to improving the care of cancer patients. There is compelling evidence that new methods for screening, diagnosis and evaluation of cancer can make a significant impact on cancer care in the immediate future.
About The Wesley Research Institute Tissue Bank
The largest facility of its kind in Queensland, the Tissue Bank will use state-of-the-art technology to provide researchers with an invaluable resource for investigating the origins and development of cancer and other diseases.
Initially, the Tissue Bank will focus on the collection of sarcomas, melanomas and tumours of the breast, ovary, prostate, colon, pancreas and liver. Queensland is well placed as a source of cancer tissue due to its diverse population, large number of aged retirees, and high-rate of some cancers, particularly melanoma. The Wesley Hospital alone does about 2000 cancer related surgeries each year.
The specimens, with matching blood samples and clinical data, are donated by consenting patients during the course of their normal treatment. The Tissue Bank obtains the tissue that remains only after pathology needs have been met. These samples are stored under a unique code with no information on the patients’ identity.
Researchers who are part of an ethically and scientifically approved research project can apply to access samples from the Tissue Bank. There are strict protocols to follow and criteria to meet before approval is granted. After these criteria have been met, researchers in Australia and overseas will be able to access:
- Tissue images such as slides and micro arrays
- Information and data about the tissue
- Samples of tissue and matching blood for their own research
The Hon Premier Peter Beattie officially opened the Tissue Bank in March 2007. The Queensland Government contributed $1.42 million towards the construction of the Tissue Bank through the Smart State Research Facility Fund. The investment has built and equipped a dedicated laboratory with high-precision equipment for preparation and study of tissue samples. This equipment includes an Aperio Scan Scope which takes high resolution images of tissue samples that can then be shared with researchers around the world, and two vapour phase nitrogen storage vessels (-196ºC) and two -80ºC freezers which have the capacity to house in excess of 164,000 tissue and blood samples. The small sections of tissue collected from patients will be stored in cryogenic vials that help preserve the tissue’s proteins and genetic material almost indefinitely.
Patients in the Brisbane area who are diagnosed with cancer and wish to donate tissue to the Tissue Bank to help the search for answers can obtain more information about donating here.
The Wesley Research Institute Tissue Bank Management Committee
The Wesley Research Institute Tissue Bank Management Committee (TBMC) accepts applications from researchers who wish to use biospecimen from the Institute’s Tissue Bank. The TBMC has developed policies and procedures relevant to the Tissue Bank and ensures they are adhered to. The Committee is also concerned about budget and cost recovery, the appropriate use of biospecimen and administering over any conflicts of interest or complaints about how decisions have been made.
The members of this Committee are as follows:
- Professor Julie Campbell AO, FAA, (Director, The Wesley Research Institute)
- Dr Doug Killer (Human Research Ethics Committee Executive Officer, UnitingCare Health)
- Dr Geoff Beadle (Medical/Radiation Oncologist, The Wesley Medical Centre)
- Ms Anne Copeland (Director of Nursing, The Wesley Hospital)
- Professor Georgia Chenevix-Trench (Laboratory Head, Queensland Institute of Medical Research)
