CB: Tissue Core

COREB: SPECIMEN The combined Tissue Resource Core at the Universities of Arizona and Rochester will have the responsibility of collecting, storing and cataloging pathological specimens from patients with lymphoproliferative disorders that are seen at the Arizona and James P Wilmot Cancer Centers at the Universities of Arizona and Rochester respectively. In addition, the Core will also collect and store normal lymphoid tissue and blood and bone marrow cells to be used as controls for biologic studies that use the corresponding malignant tissue. Specimens are stored as snap frozen blocks, paraffin blocks, viable cell suspensions, and frozen serum aliquots. Tissue procurement and data collection is done under the auspices of IRB approved protocols at each institution. All patients are required to sign an informed consent before abstracting clinical or epidemiologic information using procedures that maintain strict patient anonymity and that adhere to the guidelines established by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). In addition, at U of A, excess diagnostic tissue from non-consented patients is stored as a matter of routine practice. No clinical information is abstracted on these patients without direct IRB approval and waiver of informed consent. However, these tissues are more frequent and make valuable samples for test development and feasibility studies. A bank of hematolymphoid cell lines is also maintained with active collection of new cell lines of interest. These facilities are already integrated with each other regarding sample distribution and software development. The overall goal of the Tissue Resource Core is to provide necessary patient samples and cell lines to support the Lymphoma SPORE translational research projects. The specific aims are: 1. To consent, collect, store, and annotate high quality samples in accordance with regulatory guidelines in order to maximize their potential usefulness; 2. To characterize samples through pathologic evaluation, immunophenotyping, molecular studies, and clinical features; 3. To conserve tissues through careful inventory control, creation of tissue microarrays, up-front extraction of DMA and RNA; 4. To distribute samples in a timely and efficient manner to maximize their translational research potential. These combined resources at the University of Arizona and Rochester will be intimately involved with each of the projects proposed in this SPORE grant application and will facilitate the development of collaborative projects within and beyond the SPORE.