Biobanking of Fresh Frozen Tissue from Clinical Surgical Specimens: Transport Logistics, Sample Selection, and Histologic Characterization

Abstract

Access to high-quality fresh frozen tissue is critical for translational cancer research and molecular ­diagnostics. Here we describe a workflow for the collection of frozen solid tissue samples derived from fresh human patient specimens after surgery. The routines have been in operation at Uppsala University Hospital since 2001. We have integrated cryosection and histopathologic examination of each biobank sample into the biobank manual. In this way, even small, macroscopically ill-defined lesions can be ­procured without a diagnostic hazard due to the removal of uncharacterized tissue from a clinical ­specimen. Also, knowledge of the histomorphology of the frozen tissue sample – tumor cell content, stromal components, and presence of necrosis – is pivotal before entering a biobank case into costly molecular profiling studies.