HMRI brain cancer biobank will provide understanding of genetic characteristics
The Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI) is establishing a new biobank which will help to provide a clearer understanding of the genetic characteristics of different brain cancers.
Blood and tissue samples, donated by patients at various times in their brain cancer journey, will be preserved at HMRI's Newcastle headquarters at -150 degrees celsius.
Funding from the Mark Hughes Foundation has led to the establishment of the biobank.
Oncologist and clinical research fellow Dr Craig Gedye said researchers and clinicians will be able to access the samples for decades.
"Increasingly we recognise that we can detect traces of the cancer, or the body's immune response to the cancer or other indicators that your body is fighting the cancer from blood samples," he said.
"So instead of just taking a sample at the time of surgery, we are going to take blood samples at multiple times during their treatment.
"While you can't do experiments directly on that, it provides an incredible resource."
Dr Gedye said keeping track of changes in cancer will allow researchers to deliver improved treatments over time.
"We are just beginning to understand that cancers do evolve over the time of the cancer so it's a bit of a moving target, so knowing where the target is will allow us to actually throw better treatments at people," he said.
"It depends on the ideas that come along in the future.
"This is not going to generate any specific research project for now but it is building a resource for ideas in the future."