Development of an integrated biospecimen bank and multidisciplinary clinical database for pancreatic cancer

Background: The integration of biospecimens with reliable clinical data is critical to advance molecular findings from the laboratory to the clinic. We describe the development of an integrated pancreatic tissue bank (PTB) and clinical database for patients with pancreatic cancer and other pancreatic disorders. Methods: A clinical database and PTB were created in 1990 and 2000, respectively, to collect clinical information and biospecimens from patients with suspected or confirmed pancreatic cancer, other pancreatic diseases, and tumors of the duodenum, ampulla of Vater, and distal bile duct. Standard procedures for biospecimen collection and data entry were developed. Results: From 2000 through 2006, the PTB collected 8,061 pancreatic tissue specimens from 620 patients. The most common histologies of pancreatic tumors were pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (55.3%) and neuroendocrine carcinoma (16.3%). The biospecimen collection also includes 431 plasma samples, 40 fine-needle aspiration samples, and a tissue microarray containing 85 pancreatic adenocarcinomas and matched normal tissue specimens. The clinical database contains information for 7,647 patients with pancreatic cancer, other pancreatic disorders, and duodenal, ampullary, or bile duct neoplasms. The data are arranged into nine modules: patient, presentation, risk factors, diagnostic imaging, treatment plan, surgery, pathology, postoperative complications, and follow-up. Conclusions: We have established a pancreatic cancer tissue bank with standardized procedures for collection of biospecimens along with a comprehensive multidisciplinary clinical database. The integrated biospecimen bank and clinical database for pancreatic cancer described here can serve as a model from which other groups may develop similar systems.