Minimum biobanking requirements: issues in a comprehensive cancer center biobank

Cancer biobanks, when located within a comprehensive cancer center, are characterized by management and organizational peculiarities mainly related to the multidisciplinary information available of such specialized centers and the continuous collection stream of quality-assessed biospecimens. The present study summarizes the main characteristics of comprehensive cancer center biobanks and, more in detail, procedures addressed in order to maintain full control over interlacement issues that occur at every level, from patient enrolment eligibility and consenting to dissemination and utilization of specimens and associated data. Dedicated personnel, appropriate storage facilities, as well as ethical, legal, and technical requirements are among the most relevant aspects strongly conditioning the quality of these structures. Because of its location and the need to be directly connected with clinical units, such as pathology, oncology, surgery, etc., ad hoc information technology tools are crucial to support all aspects of biorepository operations, including (but not limited to) patient enrolment and consent; biospecimen collection, processing, storage, and distribution; quality assurance and quality control; collection of patient data; validation documentation; and management reporting functions.