Preserving Tumor Specimens: Hospitals' Methods And Techniques

Tumor preservation is a critical process in oncology, offering patients access to advanced technologies and treatments such as drug screening, chemo sensitivity testing, and personalized therapeutic vaccines. Hospitals typically preserve tumor specimens in paraffin, but this method renders the tissue dead and limits its use for the patient. StoreMyTumor, on the other hand, offers a service that preserves as much of the tumor as possible using various formats, including freezing the cells alive. This maximizes the opportunities for patients to benefit from their own tissue. The process of tumor preservation in hospitals involves placing the tissue in a container with a mixture of water and formaldehyde (formalin) for preservation. The container is labeled with patient information and relevant details. The pathologist then examines the specimen without a microscope, recording characteristics like size, color, and consistency. This initial assessment is known as a gross examination.

Tumor preservation methods include freezing, paraffin wax, and cryopreservation

Tumor preservation is a critical process that enables access to all components of a patient's tumor, including genetic information about recognisable mutations. This information can be used to guide oncologists in developing customised treatments for a patient's unique cancer. Tumour preservation methods include freezing, paraffin wax, and cryopreservation.

Freezing

Tumour samples can be frozen and stored in freezers at ultra-cold temperatures. This method involves collecting the tumour tissue during a biopsy or cancer-removal surgery and transporting it on dry ice at temperatures as low as -70°C to -196°C. The tissue is then stored in specialised sterile cryopreservation tubes in ultra-cold freezers. Freezing tumour samples helps preserve them for future use in cancer treatment, including recurrence cases.

Paraffin Wax

Paraffin wax is commonly used to preserve tumour specimens in hospitals. The process involves fixing the tumour tissue in a solution, such as 10% neutral buffered formalin, and then embedding it in paraffin wax. The tissue is sectioned into thin slices using a microtome and placed on microscope slides for examination. This method helps preserve the tissue's structure and makes it suitable for various applications, although it may not be suitable for certain treatments that require live cancer cells.

Cryopreservation

Cryopreservation is a technique that involves preserving tumour tissue at extremely low temperatures, typically using liquid nitrogen (-196°C). This method ensures the availability of the latest cancer treatment methods and provides access to all components of the tumour, including genetic information. Cryopreservation tubes are used to store the tumour tissue, and the process should be initiated before the initial biopsy or cancer removal surgery to preserve as much of the original tumour tissue as possible. Cryopreserved tumour tissue can be used for preparing anti-cancer vaccines and guiding personalised treatment plans.

Hospitals preserve small parts of tumors, usually in paraffin (dead)

Hospitals generally keep only a small piece of the tumour for their own purposes. This is usually preserved in paraffin, which means the tissue is dead. This is in contrast to companies like StoreMyTumor, which preserve as much of the tumour as possible in various formats, including frozen viable, frozen fixed, and/or in paraffin.

The preservation of tumour specimens is essential for further study, either immediately or at a later time. It is beneficial for every cancer patient, especially those interested in drug screening, chemo sensitivity testing, personalised therapeutic vaccines, or adoptive T-cell therapy. Tumour preservation can help an oncology team determine the most effective treatments for their cancer before introducing medications that have toxic side effects and may not work. It can also identify experimental therapies that are outside the standard of care and may be more effective than traditional treatment methods.

The preservation of tumour specimens can be done in a few different ways. One common method is to place the tissue in a container with a mixture of water and formaldehyde (formalin) or another fluid to preserve it. Sometimes, a portion of the sample is sent fresh, without any preservatives, to the pathology department for tests that require fresh tissue, such as cytogenetics. Another method of preservation involves embedding the tissue in paraffin wax, which is then cut into very thin slices using a microtome. These slices are then placed on glass slides and stained with dyes to make different parts of the cells easier to see under a microscope.

The preserved tissue is typically stored at the hospital where the biopsy was performed in case it is needed later. Patients may want their biopsy tissue re-examined for a second opinion, or a new test may become available in the future that can be performed on the tissue and could affect their treatment. It is important to note that hospitals generally use tumour samples for their own research, and patients may not have access to their samples or the right to use them for their purposes outside of that hospital.

Tumor preservation offers access to advanced technologies, like drug screening and immunotherapy

Tumor preservation is a process that involves storing and preserving tumour tissue or fluid during surgery for further study. This process is ideal for cancer patients who are interested in drug screening, chemo sensitivity testing, and other advanced treatments.

Tumour preservation offers patients access to advanced technologies and treatments that may be beyond chemotherapy and radiation. For instance, drug screening allows patients to test and prioritize the most effective chemo/drug combinations to treat their tumour before taking it. This can be especially useful for identifying experimental therapies outside of the standard of care that may be more effective than traditional treatment methods.

Tumour preservation also enables patients to access cellular immunotherapy treatments, which stimulate the immune system to fight cancer. Immunotherapy has become a powerful clinical strategy for treating cancer, with an increasing number of immunotherapy drugs being approved in recent years. For example, CAR-T cell therapy uses gene transfection technology to guide T-cells to kill cancer cells. In clinical trials, CAR-T cell therapy has been shown to be effective in treating acute lymphocytic leukemia and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

Additionally, tumour preservation allows patients to access personalized therapeutic vaccines, which are manufactured from live cancer cells. By preserving their tumour tissue, patients can ensure that they have access to a range of treatment options that may be more effective and less toxic than standard treatments.

While hospitals typically preserve a small part of the tumour tissue in paraffin (dead), private companies like StoreMyTumor offer services to preserve as much of the tumour as possible in various formats, including freezing the cells alive. This maximizes the opportunities for patients to use their tissue for their own benefit and access advanced treatments.

Tumor specimens are typically stored at the hospital where the biopsy was performed

Tumour preservation is a process that allows for further study, either immediately or at a later time. Tumour specimens are typically stored at the hospital where the biopsy was performed. This is usually done in case the tissue is needed later, for example, if the patient wishes to have the biopsy tissue re-examined or if a new test comes out that can be done on the tissue. Hospitals generally keep only a very small piece of the tumour for their own purposes, and it is usually preserved in paraffin, meaning it is dead. This is often used for internal research projects to advance science.

Some hospitals may also preserve tumour specimens in a frozen fixed state, though this is also not for patient use. Hospitals may also store specimens in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) blocks, which are arranged in sequential order for easy retrieval at the patient's request or for research purposes. However, there is ambiguity regarding the handling of human tissue specimens after histopathological diagnosis, and the use of archival specimens in pathology research is challenging due to the lack of standard guidelines.

Patients often ask the surgeon, oncologist, or hospital if the hospital will store their tumour, and the answer is typically yes, which can be misleading. This is because hospitals often only preserve a small part of the tumour in paraffin, rather than keeping it alive or in multiple formats. Private companies, such as StoreMyTumour, offer an alternative by preserving as much of the tumour as possible in various formats, including frozen viable, frozen fixed, or in paraffin. This maximises the opportunities for patients to use their tissue for their benefit.

Tumour preservation can help oncology teams determine the most effective treatments for cancer before introducing medications with toxic side effects that may not work. It can also help identify experimental therapies outside of the standard of care that may be more effective than traditional methods. For example, treatments like drug screening and cellular immunotherapies, cancer vaccines, and TILs require live cancer cells. These treatments must be collected and preserved sterilely and alive during surgery.

Overall, tumour specimens are typically stored at the hospital where the biopsy was performed, but patients have alternative options if they wish to preserve their tumour specimens in a different manner or for their own personal use.

Tumor preservation can help determine the most effective treatments before introducing medications

Tumor preservation is a process that involves preserving tissue or fluid from a tumor during surgery for further study. This process is ideal for all cancer patients, especially those interested in drug screening, chemo sensitivity testing, personalized therapeutic vaccines, or adoptive T-cell therapy. Tumor preservation can help determine the most effective treatments before introducing medications that may have toxic side effects and may not work.

Tumor preservation can help an oncology team determine the most effective treatments for cancer before introducing medications. This is because all tumors are unique and must be treated as such. Tumor preservation can also identify experimental therapies outside of the standard of care that may be more effective than traditional treatment methods. For example, cancer vaccines and TILs (manufactured from live cancer cells) and chemo sensitivity (the study of the response of live cancer cells to certain drugs) require live cancer cells. These cells must be collected and preserved during surgery.

Tumor preservation can also help patients maximize their potential therapeutic and diagnostic options. For instance, patients can instruct labs to send parts of their tumor to a destination of their choice to be sent to various labs for analysis to determine the best chemotherapy treatments. This can also be used for ongoing immunotherapy trials.

Hospitals generally keep only a small piece of the tumor, usually preserved in paraffin (dead). In contrast, private companies like StoreMyTumor preserve as much tumor as possible in various formats, including freezing the cells in a way that they stay alive. This is because different applications require different formats, and once in one format, the tumor cannot be reformatted.

Solid tumors can be preserved as tissue or digested into single cells. While upfront digestion maximizes the live-cell yield, some applications require live tissue. Therefore, it is safer not to digest if not required.

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