Creation and Maintenance of a Living Biobank at University of Rostock

In light of the growing knowledge about the inter-individual properties and heterogeneity of cancers, the emerging field of personalized medicine requires a platform for preclinical research. Over recent years, the University of Rostock has established a biobank of colorectal and pancreatic cancers comprising of primary tumor tissue, normal tissue, sera, isolated peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL), patient-derived xenografts (PDX), as well as primary and secondary cancer cell lines.

Since original tumor tissue is limited and the establishment rate of primary cancer cell lines is still relatively low, PDX allows not only the preservation and extension of the biobank but also the generation of secondary cancer cell lines. Moreover, PDX-models have been proven to be the ideal in vivo model for preclinical drug testing.

In this article, Florian Bürtin et al describes the individual steps of creation, maintenance, and administration of a large biobank of colorectal and pancreatic cancer. They also highlight the crucial details and caveats associated with biobanking.

Also read how the University of California, Davis is using OpenSpecimen to track PDX specimens.