US Flag logoAn official website of the United States government
Cooperative Human Tissue Network
BPC
Data Resource:  BPC
Point of Contact:  
Contact Form,  
Biorepository

About This Dataset
The CHTN was initiated in 1987 by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Cancer Diagnosis Program to provide increased access to human tissue for basic and applied science from academia and industry to accelerate the advancement of discoveries in cancer diagnosis and treatment. The CHTN operates on a unique prospective procurement model rather than a banking model and focuses on being user friendly. While a bank collects, processes and stores specimens in a "one-shoe-fits all" approach, the CHTN staff work closely with each investigator to tailor the collection, processing, temporary storage and distribution of tissues in order to meet his/her exact needs and to support his/her research in a timely manner. A diagnostic pathologist reviews each request and can help investigators select the proper tissues and protocols to support their research. All tissues distributed must meet quality assurance/control standards, ensuring investigators a high quality product. The CHTN has pioneered the use of quality assurance/control methods in tissue resources and has trained personnel at other tissue resources in the importance of quality control of tissues used in research. The CHTN is comprised of five adult divisions and one pediatric division. Each adult division coordinates investigator applications based upon the investigator's geographic location. The Pediatric Division manages all investigators who request pediatric specimens only. The CHTN divisions work together as a seamless unit to fulfill requests. The CHTN's specialized informatics systems allows each division to effectively communicate and network investigator requests between divisions.
Core Data Elements
Additional Data Elements
DATA REPOSITORY