Prostate Cancer Pathology Resource Network

The Prostate Cancer Pathology Resource Network which has since been renamed the Prostate Cancer Biorepository Network or PCBN is a collaboration between the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine JHU and the New York University School of Medicine NYU. The goal of the PCBN is to develop a biorepository with high quality, well annotated specimens that can be used by prostate cancer researchers. The specimens in the PCBN include prostatectomy tissues frozen, paraffin embedded, and tissue microarrays TMAs, serum, plasma, buffy coat, prostatic fluid, and derived specimens DNA and RNA these specimens are linked to clinical and outcome data and supported by an informatics infrastructure that will eventually be grid-enabled through caTISSUE. The PCBN is currently made accessible to outside researchers through a website. The PCBN has been open to researchers since July 1 2011. Since that time it has been publicized at national and international meetings, surveyed prostate cancer researchers across the country for their tissue and biospecimen needs, finalized policies and procedures for access to tissue, finalized SOPs for most common processes, markedly revised the website to include improved forms, descriptions of procedures, SOPs and biospecimen resources, conducted biospecimen research on DNA and RNA best practices and presented these at international meetings, significantly increased the number of TMAs and specimens available, and fulfilled 6 tissue requests with 9 more in process, from researchers in the US and abroad.