Endocrine Neoplasm Tumor Biobank as a Platform for Advancing Cancer Research: A Framework for Design, Collection, Processing, and Storage

Background: Biobanks are biological repositories that collect, process, store, and distribute human biological samples. Among them, tumor banks play a central role in biomedical research. The overall goal of a tumor bank is to collect cancerous and normal samples under standardized conditions for basic, clinical, or applied research. Methods: Tumor samples from patients with endocrine neoplasms were collected from excess tissue samples not required for diagnostic purposes after surgery in the surgical department of Dr. Shariati Hospital, Tehran, Iran. In addition, relevant biological samples such as serum, plasma and DNA were collected in parallel. Prior to sampling, informed consent was obtained from the patients and a questionnaire was completed. After rapid freezing with isopentane, tissue samples were stored in a liquid nitrogen tank, while other biological materials, such as serum, were stored in a -80°C freezer. Results: Tissue, plasma, serum, and DNA samples collected from patients with endocrine neoplasms were stored in separate barcoded storage boxes in the biobank and were made available to researchers. Conclusion: The use of bioproducts in domestic research and international networks has strengthened research collaborations through supporting the collection and distribution of tissues, especially cancer tissues. This trend plays an important role in facilitating basic and applied research in various fields of cancer, including molecular biology, immunology, genetics and pharmacology, and will pave the way for scientific advances and therapeutic innovations.