Biobank participation is an option for many cancer patients at the Gundersen Health System. Eligible patients may be identified by surgeons or contacted directly by MyChart message. If you receive that communication, full information on participation will be provided and you will be free to opt-in or decline to participate.
Selected examples of studies to which our biobank specimens have contributed to are highlighted below:
Cancer Genome Atlas studies by the TCGA consortium were a multi-center effort to comprehensively understand the genetic alterations driving all of the common tumor types. These data have led to a revolution in the genetic undertanding of cancer and to many new therapies, as well as the diagnostic tests necessary to determine which patients might benefit most from these drugs.
Melanoma is often a very aggressive form of cancer and tumor recurrences, if they occur, typically recur within a few years of the initial surgery. Ultra-late melanoma recurrence (after 20 or more years) is exceptionally rare and poorly understood. Our large archival tumor collection allowed us to be the first to genetically confirm a melanoma recurrence that occurred 30 years after the original tumor was removed and provided insight into factors that may control such recurrences (publication).
The BRAF gene is commonly altered in melanoma and less frequently in colon, lung and some other tumors. There is one very frequent mutation, V600E, which is well understood but it is unclear how we can successfully treat less frequently detected BRAF mutations. Using biobank specimens and experiments in the laboratory, we characterized how one such alteration, a MKRN1-BRAF fusion, works in colorectal cancer (publication).
The comprehensive genetic sequencing of individual patient tumors is revolutionizing cancer patient care by creating the opportunity to treat patients based on their specific genetic alterations instead of delivering chemotherapies that work reasonably well on average but which have a wide range of responses in patients. Accurate test validation is essential to developing a diagnostic that is safe and effective for patients to use. We partnered with an external organization which we felt had strong potential to develop an excellent test and provided a large number of specimens to assist with their validation. That test is now widely used at healthcare systems across the country, including Gundersen.
We have provided specimens to residents and fellows at the Gundersen Health System, as well as students in regional universities, and assisted with their research projects giving them the opportunity to gain cutting edge experience in the analysis of human cancer specimens.