Overview

Expertise

LHSCRI has many biobanks that may offer critical insights across a range of diseases and health conditions. These include:

London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) is home to one of four Ontario Tumour Bank (OTB) sites across the province. OTB is one of the largest cancer biorepositories in Canada, focusing on providing researchers with high-quality tumour-related biospecimens and derivatives, comprehensively annotated with de-identified clinical data.  With over 100,000 samples in inventory from over 18,000 consented patients, OTB is integral in groundbreaking cancer research in Canada and around the world.  

At each OTB site, dedicated staff members collect samples and clinical data from consenting donors while following a strict set of procedures and guidelines. Both cancerous and adjacent-normal tissue is collected, in addition to matched blood samples, offering researchers everything they need to analyze a patients’ tumour. Researchers can request data by specific criteria or by tumour type, depending on the nature of their research. To assist researchers further, samples can also be provided as derivatives, such as quantified/qualified RNA or DNA, or tissue microarrays.  

Access fees are deeply subsidized for all Ontario researchers. With LHSC being home to one of four OTB sites, access fees for researchers at London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute (LHSCRI) are further subsidized. Access fees vary depending on the type of specimen preparation, depth of clinical data required, and the category of researcher (e.g., commercial, academic, local, international, etc.). 

Contact 

Please contact the Ontario Tumour Bank directly at tumourbank@oicr.on.ca for further details and/or a quote customized to your research needs. 

OTB is a program of the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR). Funded by the Government of Ontario, OICR is a not-for-profit organization that supports research on the prevention, early detection, diagnosis, treatment and control of cancer. 

Located at St. Joseph’s Health Care London, the London Tumour Biobank is a biorepository with tumour tissue, blood, and urine samples from breast and prostate biopsy patients. It offers researchers access to these samples, complete with comprehensive clinical data, to facilitate cancer research across London. The facility includes a cryogenic freezer with capacity to store 41,600 patient samples at -196 degrees Celsius and is accessible to researchers across London. 

Sample types currently include: 

  • Breast disease site – blood and breast tumour tissue obtained at the time of biopsy; and 
  • Prostate disease site – blood, prostate tissue and urine obtained at the time of biopsy, and serial blood and urine samples on a subset of prostate cancer patients. 

Data currently collected includes: 

  • Baseline data (patient history, family history, diagnostic information, primary pathology, residual disease information); 
  • Sample collection details; 
  • Neoadjuvant treatment, adjuvant treatment and radiation therapy data; 
  • Adverse events; and 
  • Follow-up data. 

The samples are available for use by all LHSCRI, Lawson Research Institute and Western University personnel. 

Cryogenic freezer storage space is also available for a minimal fee. 

Contact 

To request the use of samples, discuss research projects or to inquire about a custom request, please contact the principal investigator, Dr. Muriel Brackstone at Muriel.Brackstone@lhsc.on.on.ca

For general questions, including more information about sample collection procedures and research application procedures, contact Kalan Lynn, Coordinator, at kalan.lynn@lhsc.on.ca.