Tissue bank to “speed up” cancer research

A new tissue archive based in the UK will be an important step in preventing and treating cancer, it is claimed today.

Based in Bishop Stortford, Hertfordshire, the bank will archive patients’ tumour tissue, blood and other bodily samples for use in cancer research.

The use of such samples is said to be fast becoming the basis for research, especially in studies looking at the effects of potential new treatments.

Named onCore UK, the centre will provide information on a scale not seen before in the UK.

Brian Clark, chief executive of onCore UK, said that the centre is the “first step towards our goal of speeding up the pace of cancer research in the UK”.

“We’re looking forward to working with partners in the NHS to build a world-class archive of tissue samples for use in cancer research,” he added.

“The ultimate aim is to benefit cancer patients. If researchers are to find the answers to their questions they need access to sufficient numbers of high quality patient samples to test their hypotheses. By taking a national approach to this issue we hope to be able to speed the development of new treatments for cancer.”

Robert Jones, head of UK operations for Fisher BioServices, which will provide the central storeroom for the samples, added that the materials collected will become an “unparalleled archive”.

News of the centre is the latest positive announcement in the cancer sector; last week Cancer Research UK announced that while survival varies widely between different types of cancer, on average a patient with cancer now has a 46.2 per cent chance of being alive ten years after diagnosis in comparison with 23.6 per cent 30 years ago.