) The AIDS Malignancy Batik (AMB) was established in 1994, and since 1995 has been composed of five sites: SUNY-Brooklyn, OSU, UCSF, UCLA, and GWU. The AMB is a national resource that reflects the history of the malignancies of HIV disease in specimens. Because scientists in the AMB are themselves actively involved in studies of the pathogenesis of AIDS- related malignancies, the AMB is responsive to scientific and therapeutic advances in HIV disease. Current, the AMB contains 12, 688 individual specimens in 27 categories. The fluids, cells, and tissue specimens, along with associated clinical information, are available to qualified researcher worldwide. To data, 18 different investigators have received over 900 specimens following critical evaluation of their Letters of Intent (LOITs) by an independent Research and Evaluation Decision Panel (REDP) of experts in the field. This Current re-competition proposal combines information from all ABC member sites, as well as accomplishments, future plans, goals and budget projections from individual sites. The key AMB goals are: 1) to establish a centralized Operations Office that will maintain the national database and coordinate activities of the AMB members, external sources of specimens such as the AIDS-related Malignancy Consortium (AMC) and the Women's Interagency HIV study, and applicant investigators; 2) to expand the AMB to serve as the specimen repository for large oncological clinical and epidemiological consortia, ultimately leading to procurement of their specimens; 3) to increase visibility and broaden the use of the AMB by investigators; and 4) to further develop individual member site programs to increase specimen acquisition. The OSU-AMB Consortium, Ohio, Texas, Illinois, Georgia, and Tennessee, proposes to fulfill the key AMB goals by procuring tissue from patients in the geographic and population mid-region of the United State. Fifteen sites in six key cities will provide collection of fresh specimens, and clinical data from patients on treatment protocols as well as critical access to large pathology archives with paraffin-embedded HIV-associated malignancies. Special collections of these HIV seropositive malignancies with matched sporadic malignancies and transplantation-associated malignancies, banked DNA front microdissections of selected malignancies and well characterized Kaposi's Sarcoma cell lines will be available to transitional cancer researchers worldwide. Repository functions will be available to selected HIV/AIDS treatment groups.
Showing the most recent 10 out of 18 publications
