Role of biobanking in urology: a review

Abstract

In the current era of individualized medicine, a biorepository of human samples is essential to support clinical and translational research. There have been limited efforts in this arena within the field of urology, as cost, logistical and ethical issues represent significant deterrents to biobanking. The Johns Hopkins Brady Urological Institute Biorepository was founded in 1994 as a resource to facilitate discovery. Since its inception, the biorepository has enabled numerous research endeavours including pivotal trials leading to the regulatory approval of four diagnostic tests for prostate cancer. In the present review, we discuss the current state of biobanking within urology, outline the specific ethical and financial challenges to biobanking as well as solutions, and describe the operations of a successful urological biorepository.