Available Biospecimens

Biospecimen types available include, but are not limited to:

1. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue
2. Fresh frozen tissue
3. Whole blood, serum, plasma, white blood cells, bone marrow
4. Nucleic acids
5. Urine, stool

User Guidelines

To search and access “legacy” biospecimens from completed trials, ALL INVESTIGATORS are asked to please visit the NCTN Navigator or NCTN Biospecimen Banks.

Requests for NCTN Biospecimens from completed NCTN clinical trials may be submitted by investigators in the research community, not only members of the NCTN Groups.

Contacting This Facility: To contact this facility, please refer to the contact details below. Please do not send your request via CREx.

DTP maintains a repository of synthetic compounds and pure natural products that are available to investigators for non-clinical research purposes. The Repository collection is a uniquely diverse set of more than 200,000 compounds that have been either submitted to DTP for biological evaluation or, in some cases, synthesized under DTP auspices. Samples obtained from the NCI/DTP Open Chemicals Repository are available at no cost except for shipping charges. Importantly, investigators should note that chemical structures of these substances are those assigned by the originator of the material and in most cases, the compounds have not been analyzed by DTP for accuracy of structure or for the purity of the sample. Potentially available compounds can be searched by name or NSC number using the “DTP Data Search Tools”. The availability of some samples may be limited by current inventory.

Contacting This Facility: To contact this facility, please refer to the contact details below. Please do not send your request via CREx.

Contact Details
Chemist: Stephen L. White, Ph.D.
Phone: 240-276-5941
Email: whitesl@mail.nih.gov
Address: 9609 Medical Center Drive, Rm 4W128/MSC 9734, Bethesda, MD 20892

List of Services 

For ordering procedure and contact information, please visit:
Procedure to Obtain Vialed Samples
Procedure to Obtain Plated Compound Sets
For available compound sets, please visit:
Available Plated Compound Sets

User Guidelines

Established Technologies

• Tumors are categorized by species, namely, human, hamster, guinea pig, mouse, rabbit and rat.
• Within animal species, the list is in alphabetical order by tumor designation.
• Tumors with numeric designations are listed at the end. Human tumors are grouped by tumor type.

Please find the materials the DCTD Tumor Repository distributes here: DCTD Tumor Repository Catalog

User Guidelines

Tumor materials are furnished to qualified investigators affiliated only with recognized research laboratories.

Find more information about requesting DCTD Tumor Repository materials HERE.

User Guidelines

To access available biospecimens, ALL INVESTIGATORS are asked to click the Search Resources button on the SRL homepage and enter the requirements of the specimen you are seeking.

No account is needed for any SRL searches.

If you do not find what you are looking for in the database, please contact the Expediter through the “Contact the Expediter” button on the SRL homepage to assist you with a custom search.

Contacting This Facility: To contact this facility, please refer to the contact details below. Please do not send your request via CREx.

User Guidelines

Who Can Access This Resource

• Requestors, domestic or foreign, must be a principal investigator, laboratory director, or equivalent in a public, academic, or non-profit institution.
• Requestors must work in an established institution with appropriate laboratory facilities.
• Requestors need not be a grantee of National Institutes of Health Institute.

Assurance to Requestors

• All information provided will be treated as confidential.
• The requestor\’s institution will be required to sign a Materials Transfer Agreement (MTA) or Simple Letter of Agreement (SLA) which are legally binding agreements that govern the exchange and use of research materials and tools.

List of Services

• Target of 1000 clinically annotated early-passage patient-derived xenografts (PDXs) from tumor specimens and/or enriched circulating tumor cell (CTC) fractions
• Generate in vitro mixed cancer cell cultures from patient tumor specimens. When possible, the patient-derived cancer-associated fibroblast component will be expanded and cryopreserved in parallel
• Target of 75-100 unique patients per common cancer type such that the size of each molecularly characterized subgroup is sufficient to power subsequent validation and/or efficacy studies. In addition, the NCI is specifically targeting collection of tissue from cancer types in need of more publically available biological models such as SCLC, pancreatic, bladder, head & neck, sarcoma, Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, and melanoma
• Generate models from pre- and post-treatment specimens from the same patient
• Repository size should include enough biologically and clinically annotated models to reflect genetic diversity and effects of therapy for application in:
  
  
  
  • Target qualification
  • Pharmacodynamic assay and predictive marker development
  • ‘Preclinical’ clinical trials
  • Provide SOPs based on PDMR best practices for tissue collection, PDM generation, and model quality control; thereby, setting the standard for generation, maintenance, and analy sis of PDMs



• Provide a standard set of molecular characterizations across models to allow selection of the best model for research, including:
  
  
  
  • Targeted variant analysis using a CLIA-approved NCI Cancer Gene Panel
  
  
  • Whole exome sequencing and gene expression analysis of early-passage PDMs and where possible, originating patient specimens
  
  
  • Histopathology of early-passage PDMs and where possible, originating patient specimens
  
  
  • Growth curves of consecutive PDM passages
  
  
  • Early-passage cryopreserved PDX fragments or in vitro PDCs available for distribution
  
  
  • DNA, RNA, and flash-frozen fragments for protein extraction from early-passage PDXs available for distribution
  
  

User Guidelines

For more details and pricing see: PDMR Material Request Procedures

1. Fill out a PDMR Model Request Form.

• Provide no more than a 2-page summary of the research plan for the requested material(s)
• If requesting CAF cultures, be sure to supply sufficient justification for why the proposed research should be considered over other requestors. CAFs are non-renewable by the PDMR and once distribution material is used up, no further material will be available.

2. Review the Material Transfer Terms of Agreement and fill out the Material Transfer Agreement (MTA) with signatures affixed from both the requestor and authorizing official (required by NCI). Modifications to NCI’s Material Transfer Terms of Agreement will not be considered.

• Complete Appendix 1 in the MTA with all PDX model Distribution Lot names listed and type requested.
• Complete Appendix 2 in the MTA with all PDC, CAF, and/or PDOrg model Distribution Lot names requested.
• Intramural investigators (MD campuses — Bethesda, Shady Grove, Frederick) need to complete the Intramural MTA (the Terms of the Agreement are included in the document) and Materials Request Form (leave the FedEx and Payment Information blank).

3. If requesting cryopreserved fragments for PDX generation, provide a copy of your Animal Care and Use Committee (ACUC) protocol indicating your laboratory or designate uses NOD.Cg-Prkdcscid Il2rgtm1Wjl/SzJ (NSG) mice or a Bill of Sale showing NSG mice have been purchased. All NCI Patient Derived Models Repository PDXs must be initially implanted into NSG mice by the recipient for propagation.

• If the recipient wishes to expand in other host mouse strains, the recipient should establish a stock of viably cryopreserved fragments from the initial NSG implants and then test PDX take-rates in alternate host strains.

4. Send the Request Form(s), MTA, and ACUC protocol/Bill of Sale (if applicable) to: NCI_PDM_Repository@mail.nih.gov

5. If requesting in vitro material, a follow up email will be sent after request documents have been received indicating the specific defined media requirements of the models requested. The recipient must acknowledge that they are aware and will purchase the media components before their request is sent for review.

• If the recipient wishes to expand into other media than the Complete Media specified in the Certificate of Analysis provided with the requested cultures or on non-Matrigel coated flasks, the recipient should first establish a stock of viably cryopreserved vials of cells per the PDMR SOP and then test viability in alternate media conditions.