? Biospecimen/Pathology Core (Core 1) The Biospecimen/Pathology Core of the Duke Cancer Health Disparities P20 SPORE (DCHD) leverages and is housed in the Duke Cancer Institute?s BioRepository & Precision Pathology Center (BRPC). The BRPC is a Shared Resource of the Duke Cancer Institute and supported in part by the Duke Cancer Center Support Grant (5P30-CA014236-45). This NCI-funded shared service center obtains broad consent from patients for blood and tissue sample donation and procures, processes and banks both liquid and tissue biospecimens, supports Duke?s ?living biobank? with the Duke Patient-Derived Xenograft and Primary Tumor Cell Culture Services, and implements bioinformatic and clinical strategies for precise sample and model annotation. For the DCHD, the Core will efficiently provide high-quality tissue, blood and fluid-based biospecimens and processing services to requesting investigators, and continue to adjust practices as researcher needs evolve (Aim 1); support current and future DCHD P20 projects through expansion of existing best practices in tissue procurement, processing, and sample management (Aim 2); and educate the local, regional and national community on the importance of available biospecimens in biomedical research to enhance availability of specimens and data from underrepresented minorities (Aim 3). The Duke BRPC has recently been awarded an NCI UM1 to join the Cooperative Human Tissue Network (CHTN)(www.chtn.org); this network of biorepositories will support deeper cohort generation from across the country. For the proposed Projects, we will provide appropriate lung cancer specimens and associated data from multiple races/ethnicities (Project 1), and stomach biopsies positive for H. pylori from Black patients (Project 2). The needs of future Pilot Projects will be assessed for feasibility; given the BRPC?s existing library, a recent focus on underrepresented minority inclusion, and CHTN participation, a wide range of cancer disparities research should be possible. This Core is fully integrated into the DCHD and is critical for its success.
? Biospecimen/Pathology Core (Core 1) The Biospecimen/Pathology Core provides regulatory oversight, cohort identification, sample procurement, sample processing services for the projects in the Duke Cancer Health Disparities P20 SPORE. Retrospective cohorts of patients with leftover tissue stored in the Department of Pathology will be identified. Tissue samples will be processed for nucleic acid extraction, histology and immunohistochemistry. Fresh tissue and blood samples will be procured from patients who provide informed consent to the BioRepository protocol associated with the Biospecimen/Pathology Core. This Core?s efforts will enable translational research designed to develop or improve new or existing interventions and therapies through a better understanding of cancer disparities prevalent in the Duke Cancer Institute?s catchment area.
