07/H0712/106

St Mary's REC

Skin Tumour Unit

Research tissue bank (RTB) for the elucidation of the mechanism of disease development and progressi

Research tissue bank (RTB) for the elucidation of the mechanism of disease development and progressi

Permission to publish contact details not yet received

Permission to publish contact details not yet received

Blood samples, skin biopsies, lymph node biopsies, bone marrow and occasionally other tissues are collected from patients with suspected cutaneous lymphoma for diagnostic purposes. We would like to store any of these tissues which are in excess to clinical requirements. For diagnostic purposes tissue biopsies are bisected, half of the biopsy is embedded in paraffin for histological examination and the remainder is processed to isolate nucleic acids (DNA/RNA). Also, patients with a diagnosis of cutaneous lymphoma attending clinic for treatment may be asked to donate an additional blood if a patient is already having blood drawn for clinical tests. Whole blood is processed to isolate lymphocytes which will be stored as whole cells or further processed to extract DNA, RNA or protein. The Skin Tumour Unit currently receives around 600 samples per year for diagnostic purposes. Relevant data from medical records such as disease stage is received in conjunction with samples and stored in an encrypted database on the NHS network. Access to the database is password protected and limited to members of the Skin Tumour Unit.

No material will be collected from the deceased.

Samples will be used to undertake research into the mechanism of cutaneous lymphoma development and progression. In addition, by building an archive of samples it may be possible in the future to correlate disease outcome or response to therapy with molecular markers, providing valuable predictors of prognosis or response. Our aim is to help improve clinical diagnosis and treatment through developing a better understanding of primary cutaneous lymphomas. The RTB is intended only for the use of the Skin Tumour Unit and their collaborators due to the limited quantities of materials available.

Samples will be used to conduct biomolecular analysis of whole tissue (formalin fixed paraffin embedded [FFPE]), extracted DNA, RNA and protein. All research will be related to the pathogenesis of cutaneous lymphomas and be of a basic and/or translational nature.