LINICAL
C Biospecimen laboratory helps bring more predictability to cancer treatment By Larry Kidder
O
ncologists at the Loma Linda University Cancer Center now have an additional weapon at their disposal in the quest to better understand and defeat cancer. Now in its third year, the LLU Cancer Center Biospecimen Laboratory allows
oncologists to compare thousands of tissue samples collected over the past three years with the outcomes for the patients who donated them. Cancer Center leaders believe the lab will help improve cancer treatment in the future. A major gift of $1.5 million by San Manuel Band of Serrano Mission Indians
provided funding for building out the laboratory space. The San Manuel Band also donated $1.5 million toward the medical oncology center, bringing their total gift to $3 million. “These tissues would normally be discarded following surgery,” explains Mark Reeves, MD, PhD, director of the LLU Cancer Center. “Patients give their written consent for the tissues to be saved and frozen in liquid nitrogen, preserving them for later examination.” The collection of tissue samples is nothing new. However, these samples were previously preserved in formaldehyde and other fluids. The nucleic materials—DNA and RNA in particular—were È Saied Mirshahidi, PhD, research scientist in the biospecimen laboratory, readies a specimen and special kit for delivery to the pathologist, where the specimen will be read, then quickly frozen, limiting exposure and degradation of the tissue. Á Brilliantly stained cancer cells take on artistic and abstract forms.
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