Establishment of a Clinic-based Biorepository

Summary

Cutaneous tumors are often discarded following Mohs micrographic surgery. A protocol is described here that enables clinical support staff to effectively process and store cutaneous tumor (e.g., squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, and melanoma) samples for downstream laboratory applications without interfering with clinical operations.

Abstract

The incidence of skin cancer (e.g., squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, and melanoma) has been increasing over the past several years. It is expected that there will be a parallel demand for cutaneous tumor samples for biomedical research studies. Tissue availability, however, is limited due the cost of establishing a biorepository and the lack of protocols available for obtaining clinical samples that do not interfere with clinical operations. A protocol was established to collect and process cutaneous tumor and associated blood and saliva samples that has minimal impact on routine clinical procedures on the date of a Mohs surgery. Tumor samples are collected and processed from patients undergoing their first layer of Mohs surgery for biopsy-proven cutaneous malignancies by the Mohs histotechnologist. Adjacent normal tissue is collected at the time of surgical closure. Additional samples that may be collected are whole-blood and buccal swabs. By utilizing tissue samples that are normally discarded, a biorepository was generated that offers several key advantages by being based in the clinic versus the laboratory setting. These include a wide range of collected samples; access to de-identified patient records, including pathology reports; and, for the typical donor, access to additional samples during follow-up visits.

Introduction

Cancer and biomarker research relies on a supply of quality human tissue samples, and limited supply has hindered research^1,2. Many dermatologic studies are limited by the inadequate supply, variable quality, and costs associated with the use of human tissue. The cost of establishing a large, dedicated biobank has been estimated to be approximately two million dollars³, and these costs place the use of human tissue out of the reach of many researchers. Furthermore, the process of generating and storing research samples poses the risk of affecting clinical operations and delaying patient....

Protocol

All experimentation on human tissue samples was approved by Western IRB (WIRB Protocol #20142461). The single criterion for the collection of tissues for these procedures is a biopsy-proven diagnosis of SCC. No exclusion criteria were outlined in the original IRB protocol, but samples from patients with a known blood-borne communicable disease were not used. Informed consent was obtained prior to the collection of cutaneous tissue, blood, and saliva. Midwestern Institutional Review Board approved the validation work with clinic-based biorepository samples at Midwestern University (AZ#807).

1. Cutaneous Tumor Tissue Processing

Results

Tumor and ANT have been used successfully in protein isolation and tested by Western blotting. As shown in Figure 3, cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma markers (Muc1¹⁴, FHL-1¹⁵, and p40^16,17) can be detected in patient samples collected and stored in our clinic-based biorepository.

Discussion

To the author's knowledge, this protocol is the first of its kind that focuses on the clinical procurement of cutaneous tissue samples in both a cost-effective and fast approach. Patients undergoing Mohs microsurgery are typically scheduled during specific blocks of time, and collection is limited to these periods. Sample collection involves effort from the medical assistant involved in patient care, the Mohs histotechnologist who processes the tumor samples, and a designated laboratory staff member who handles sample en.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
BD Vacutainer Plastic Blood Collection Tubes with K3EDTA	ThermoFisher Scientific	02-685-2B
Electron Microscopy Sciences Double Edge Blades	ThermoFisher Scientific	50-949-411
Curved Medium Point General Purpose Forceps	ThermoFisher Scientific	16-100-110
Premium Microcentrifuge Tubes	ThermoFisher Scientific	05-408-138
Lonza Walkersville KGM Keratinocyte Medium	ThermoFisher Scientific	NC9791321
Electron Microscopy Sciences Tissue TEK OCT Compound	ThermoFisher Scientific	50-363-579
Leica CM1950 Cryostat	Leica Biosystems	14047743909
Frosted Microscope Slides	ThermoFisher Scientific	12-550-343
Shandon Rapid-Chrome H&E Frozen Section Staining Kit	ThermoFisher Scientific	99-900-01
Nalgene Long-Term Storage Cryogenic Tubes	ThermoFisher Scientific	03-337-7X
Falcon 15 mL Conical Centrifuge Tubes	ThermoFisher Scientific	14-959-53A
Boca Scientific BuccalT-Swab	ThermoFisher Scientific	NC9679349
Cell Signaling Technology 10x RIPA Buffer	ThermoFisher Scientific	50-195-822
Halt Protease and Phosphatase Inhibitor Cocktail	ThermoFisher Scientific	PI78443
Eppendorf 5424R Microcentrifuge	ThermoFisher Scientific	05-401-203
Pellet Morter Cordless Homogenizer	ThermoFisher Scientific	12-141-3
RNAse Free Pellet Pestle	ThermoFisher Scientific	121-141-364
Forma SteriCycle CO2 Incubator	ThermoFisher Scientific	13-998-089
HyClone Fetal Bovine Serum	ThermoFisher Scientific	SH30071.02
Gibco Advanced DMEM/F-12	ThermoFisher Scientific	12-634-028
Gibco Penicillin-Streptomycin	ThermoFisher Scientific	15140148
Gibco 1 M Hepes	ThermoFisher Scientific	15-630-130
Nunc Cell Culture 35 mm with Vent	ThermoFisher Scientific	1256591
Anti-CFH monoclonal antibody clone OX-24	Abnova	MAB12583
Anti-p40 (p63 delta) antibody	Abnova	ABX-144A
Anti MUC-1 antibody	Santa Cruz Biotech	sc-7313
Anti-Snail + Slug (phospho S246)	Abcam	Ab63568
Goat anti-rabbit IgG, Alexa Fluor 488	Invitrogen	A-11034
Alexa Fluor 568 Phallodin	Molecular Probes	A12380
ProLong Gold Antifade Mountant with DAPI	Molecular Probes	P36941
Zeiss Axio Imager Z1 Microscope with Axiocam camera	Zeiss	4300009901
Olympus IX51 phase contrast with DP72 camera	Olympus	IX511F3