) The AIDS Malignancy Bank was established in 1994, and since 1995 has been composed of five sites: UCSF, UCLA, George Washington University, SUNY-Brooklyn, and Ohio State University. 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 p a t hogenesis of AIDS-related malignancies, the AMB is responsive to therapeutic and scientific advances in HIV disease. Currently, the AMB contains 12,688 individual specimens in 43 different categories. These fluid, cell, and tissue specimens, along with associated clinical information, are a v ailable to qualified researchers worldwide. To due, 18 different investigators have received over 900 specimens after critical evaluation of their Letters of Intent (LOIS) by an independent Research and Evaluation Decision Panel (REDP) of experts in the field. This current recompetition proposal combines information from all AMB member sites, as well as reporting accomplishments, future plans, goals and budget projections from individual sites. The key AMB goals are: 1) to establish an Operations Center that will maintain the national database, coordinate activities of the AMB sites, and interface with external sources of specimens such as the AIDS-related Malignancy Consortium and the Women's Interagency HIV Study, ind the scientific community; 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 f u rther develop individual member site programs to increase specimen acquisition. UCSF has provided more than 600 specimens to nine investigators from its specialized Bank. The UCSF AMB will continue to utilize its well-established network of clinicians and pathologists to obtain specimens for the Bank. The strengths of the UCSF Bank include: a) a large lymphoma banking program, including contributions from the largest lymphoma epidemiology study ever performed; b) an anogenital malignancy program; and c) an aggressive multi-site autopsy acquisition program. In the current proposal, efforts will be made to acquire specimens in categories underrepresented in the national AMB, as well as international specimens and a complete set of lymphoma specimens linked to an epidemiology database. The SFGH Operations Office will continue to coordinate the local infrastructure and maintain the local AMB database. In addition, a national AMB Operations Center will be established at UCSF and will be responsible for coordinating the efforts of all the participating AMB sites.
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