Tumour biobanks are vital for understanding cancer subtypes and discovering biomarkers, but traditional repositories often suffer from selection and recall bias due to convenience sampling in hospitals. Integrating tumour samples from incident cancer cases within long-term epidemiology cohorts solves many of these issues by combining molecular tumour data with detailed, pre-diagnostic exposure histories. For example, the Channing/Harvard Cohorts Biorepository in the United States has successfully linked long-term aspirin use to a reduced risk of specific colorectal cancer subtypes, showcasing the power of such time-integrated data. Europe holds similar potential, with large-scale cohorts like NSHDS and NLCS already connecting tissue samples to decades of lifestyle and biomarker data.
To fully unlock these resources, Europe needs robust multidisciplinary collaboration, long-term funding, and infrastructure that can navigate complex legal and ethical frameworks, such as the GDPR. Dedicated departments bridging pathology and population science, along with training programs and international collaboration, could transform how we use tumour biobanks for prevention, diagnostics, and research. By investing in these integrated strategies, European biobanks can become powerful engines of discovery, helping to reveal not only what causes cancer but when and how it begins.
Read the full article here: Enhancing existing tumour biobanks in European prospective cohort studies – ScienceDirect.
