The Cooperative Prostate Cancer Tissue Resource:: A specimen and data resource for cancer researchers

Purpose: The Cooperative Prostate Cancer Tissue Resource (CPCTR) is a National Cancer Institute-supported tissue bank that provides large numbers of clinically annotated prostate cancer specimens to investigators. This communication describes the CPCTR to investigators interested in obtaining prostate cancer tissue samples. Experimental Design: The CPCTR, through its four participating institutions, has collected specimens and clinical data for prostate cancer cases diagnosed from 1989 onward. These specimens include paraffin blocks and frozen tissue from radical prostatectomy specimens and paraffin blocks from prostate needle biopsies. Standardized histopathological characterization and clinical data extraction are performed for all cases. Information on histopathology, demography (including ethnicity), laboratory data (prostate-specific antigen values), and clinical outcome related to prostate cancer are entered into the CPCTR database for all cases. Materials in the CPCTR are available in multiple tissue formats, including tissue microarray sections, paraffin-embedded tissue sections, serum, and frozen tissue specimens. These are available for research purposes following an application process that is described on the CPCTR web site (www.prostatetissues.org). Results: The CPCTR currently (as of October 2003) contains 5135 prostate cancer cases including 4723 radical prostatectomy cases. Frozen tissues, in some instances including patient serum samples, are available for 1226 cases. Biochemical recurrence data allow identification of cases with residual disease, cases with recurrence, and recurrence-free cases. Conclusions: The CPCTR offers large numbers of highly characterized prostate cancer tissue specimens, including tissue microarrays, with associated clinical data for biomarker studies. Interested investigators are encouraged to apply for use of this material (www.prostatetissues.org).