Assessing Researcher Needs for a Virtual Biobank

Stakeholder engagement to ensure the sustainability of biobanks: a survey of potential users of biobank services

Biobanks are important infrastructures facilitating biomedical research. After a decade of rolling out such infrastructures, a shift in attention to the sustainability of biobanks could be observed in recent years. In this regard, an increase in the as yet relatively low utilisation rates of biobanks has been formulated as a goal. Higher utilisation rates can only be achieved if the perspectives of potential users of biobanks-particularly researchers not yet collaborating with biobanks-are adequately considered. To better understand their perspectives, a survey was conducted at ten different research institutions in Germany hosting a centralised biobank. The survey targeted potential users of biobank services, i.e. researchers working with biosamples. It addressed the general demand for biosamples, strategies for biosample acquisition/storage and reasons for/against collaborating with biobanks. In total, 354 researchers filled out the survey. Most interestingly, only a minority of researchers (12%) acquired their biosamples via biobanks. Of the respondents not collaborating with biobanks on sample acquisition, around half were not aware of the (services of the) respective local biobank. Those who actively decided against acquiring biosamples via a biobank provided different reasons. Most commonly, respondents stated that the biosamples required were not available, the costs were too high and information about the available biosamples was not readily accessible. Biobanks can draw many lessons from the results of the survey. Particularly, external communication and outreach should be improved. Additionally, biobanks might have to reassess whether their particular collection strategies are adequately aligned with local researchers' needs.

ViBiBa: Virtual BioBanking for the DETECT multicenter trial program - decentralized storage and processing

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ViBiBa is an open-source sample banking tool.

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ViBiBa was purpose built for liquid biopsy specimen.

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ViBiBa allows for decentralized storage while promoting collaboration.

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ViBiBa's plugin support requires no change in existing data structures.

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ViBiBa empowers translational research projects and cohort formation.

Background

Liquid Biopsy (LB) in the form of e.g., circulating tumor cells (CTCs) is a promising non-invasive approach to support current therapeutic cancer management. However, the proof of clinical utility of CTCs in informing therapeutic decision-making for e.g., breast cancer in clinical trials and associated translational research projects is facing the issues of low CTC positivity rates and low CTC numbers – even in the metastasized situation. To compensate for this dilemma, clinical CTC trials are designed as large multicenter endeavors with decentralized sample collection, processing and storage of products, making data management highly important to enable high-quality translational CTC research.

Aim

In the DETECT clinical CTC trials we aimed at developing a custom-made, browser-based virtual database to harmonize and organize both decentralized processing and storage of LB specimens and to enable the collection of clinically meaningful LB sample.

Methods

ViBiBa processes data from various sources, harmonizes the data and creates an easily searchable multilayered database.

Results

An open-source virtual bio-banking web-application termed ViBiBa was created, which automatically processes data from multiple non-standardized sources. These data are automatically checked and merged into one centralized databank and are providing the opportunity to extract clinically relevant patient cohorts and CTC sample collections.

Summary

ViBiBa, which is a highly flexible tool that allows for decentralized sample storage of liquid biopsy specimens, facilitates a solution which promotes collaboration in a user-friendly, federalist and highly structured way. The source code is available under the MIT license from https://vibiba.com or https://github.com/asperciesl/ViBiBa

Knowledge, perceptions and attitude of Egyptian physicians towards biobanking issues

Objectives

Collection and storage of biospecimens and data for biobanking raise many ethical concerns. Stakeholders’ opinions about these ethical issues are important since they can help in the development of ethical guidelines to govern biobanking activities. Physicians are among the important stakeholders since they contact potential participants and could be biobank users. The goal of this study is to evaluate the perceptions and attitude of Egyptian physicians towards ethical issues in biobanking.

Methods

A cross-sectional online survey was designed and distributed with the target group between November 2019 and January 2020.

Results

The questionnaire was completed by 223 physicians. While 65.5% reported hearing the term "Biobanking" before, 45.7% knew that there are biobanks in Egypt. Participants had a general positive attitude towards the value of biobanks in research. About 73% agreed that biobanks can share biospecimens with international research organizations, but only 42.6% supported collaboration with pharmaceutical companies, and 44% agreed to the use of user fees by biobanks. About 48% supported the use of broad consent in biobanks, and 73.1% believed that donors of biospecimens should be informed about results of research performed on their biospecimens.

Conclusion

Although many Egyptian physicians heard about biobanking, they had limited knowledge about the existence of biobanks in Egypt. They had concerns about commercialization, use of broad consent and user fees. A knowledge gap exists among these stakeholders, which should be covered by different educational activities. Community discussions should start to reach consensus about the issues of commercialization and return of research results.

Data Sharing Solutions for Biobanks for the COVID-19 Pandemic

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a novel illness, which is not fully understood. Whether an individual has traveled outside their respective country or never left their community, COVID-19 is a highly contagious illness, which can result in high death rates. Biobanks will play a role in providing tools to examine data from those receiving treatment along with reviewing the current and long treatment outcomes associated with this novel coronavirus disease. A diverse, global network made up of laboratory scientists, clinical researchers, epidemiologists, data science teams, physicians, and so on must have a standardized, collaborative, virtual biobanking solution to share clinical expertise and evidence-based solutions. This virtual biobank must be centrally managed to ensure standardized quality assurance and quality control efforts. Virtual biobanks will eliminate the need to transport samples between two locations for a specific study, minimizing the risk of contamination. It is necessary for virtual biobanks to upload imaging data from those patients diagnosed with COVID-19. Standardized, collected information will be essential in the area of discovery and validation of disease markers as well as novel therapeutic strategies. It is essential for biobanks to collect COVID-19 specimens along with corresponding clinical and demographic data from COVID-19 diagnostic testing. Because COVID-19 is an acute respiratory illness, proper collection procedures must be in place to collect respiratory samples for biobanking purposes. A preconfigured purpose-built COVID-19 Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) is an efficient tool to seamlessly manage a data sharing network. Data entered into LIMS will be beneficial in designing much needed clinical trials to address any unmet needs to better address clinical treatment and outcomes. The partners or entities associated with the COVID-19 data sharing network will be able to effectively communicate, view data, and images associated with their respective research interest to advance COVID-19 research and data driven, clinical care.

Biobanking for Translational Diabetes Research in India

India is declared as the diabetic capital of the world. Clinically well-annotated blood samples will advance diabetes research for better diagnostic and treatment methods. Building a disease-specific biobank with high-quality peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and clinical follow-up data system will serve as a good platform for clinical research in diabetes. Processing and storage of high-quality biospecimen for translational research in diabetes demand the implementation of good clinical laboratory practices. “Certification or accreditation programs” that improve biorepository processes and frameworks are lacking in Indian context. To sustain and translate the research into clinical practice, good governance of the biobank and financial resources is required. For ethical issues related to health needs of the people and participants in the research, issues related to research process, translational research, and commercialization, data sharing should be addressed. For India to be an innovation and sustainable country Indian government is supporting translational research facilities, including biobanks. India has developed biobanks for various diseases; however, diabetes-specific research biorepository is lacking. Given the dangers of diabetic burden, India should set up a diabetes disease-specific repository learning from the global organizations and customize to the needs of Indian context. It is important to have private agencies get involved to develop biobanks and future research as there are commercial goals to translate research into practice. New technologies of specimen storing and preservation, data management, and data sharing should be adopted for developing cost-effective long-standing disease-specific population biobank in India.

The Significance of Biobanking in the Sustainability of Biomedical Research: A Review

Biobank, defined as a functional unit for facilitating and improving research by storing biospecimen and their accompanying data, is a key resource for advancement in life science. The history of biobanking goes back to the time of archiving pathology samples. Nowadays, biobanks have considerably improved and are classified into two categories: diseased-oriented and population-based biobanks. UK biobank as a population-based biobank with about half a million samples, Biobank Graz as one of the largest biobanks in terms of sample size, and The International Agency for Research on Cancer biobank as a specialized the World Health Organization cancer agency are few examples of successful biobanks worldwide. The present review provides a history of biobanking, and after presenting different biobanks, we discuss in detail the challenges in the field of biobanking and its future, as well. In the end, ICR biobank, as the first cancer biobank in Iran established in 1998, is thoroughly described.

Virtual global biorepository: access for all to speed-up result-oriented research

Biorepositories have been established and used for the collection, storage, and distribution of biological materials for research and improving health. The terms "biobank" and "biorepository" are often used interchangeably, and they have been employed for more than a century to maintain and reallocate the biospecimens. The biorepository begins with the aim of data collection and the expected future use of human biological materials/specimens. Biorepository on cancer, diabetes, infectious disease, neurological disorders, syndromes are established but they are located in the developed world. To make it a universally accessible virtual global repository is required. A virtual biobank is an electronic database of biological specimens and other related information that exists effectively, independent of where the actual specimens are stored. Virtual biorepositories could be consortia of national or international repositories, that can provide source material and data to researchers in any part of the world which is urgently needed and highly meaningful for result-oriented research in global health care.

Biobanking in health care: evolution and future directions

BACKGROUND

The aim of the present review is to discuss how the promising field of biobanking can support health care research strategies. As the concept has evolved over time, biobanks have grown from simple biological sample repositories to complex and dynamic units belonging to large infrastructure networks, such as the Pan-European Biobanking and Biomolecular Resources Research Infrastructure (BBMRI). Biobanks were established to support scientific knowledge. Different professional figures with varied expertise collaborate to obtain and collect biological and clinical data from human subjects. At same time biobanks preserve the human and legal rights of each person that offers biomaterial for research.

METHODS

A literature review was conducted in April 2019 from the online database PubMed, accessed through the Bibliosan platform. Four primary topics related to biobanking will be discussed: (i) evolution, (ii) bioethical issues, (iii) organization, and (iv) imaging.

RESULTS

Most biobanks were founded as local units to support specific research projects, so they evolved in a decentralized manner. The consequence is an urgent needing for procedure harmonization regarding sample collection, processing, and storage. Considering the involvement of biomaterials obtained from human beings, different ethical issues such as the informed consent model, sample ownership, veto rights, and biobank sustainability are debated. In the face of these methodological and ethical challenges, international organizations such as BBMRI play a key role in supporting biobanking activities. Finally, a unique development is the creation of imaging biobanks that support the translation of imaging biomarkers (identified using a radiomic approach) into clinical practice by ensuring standardization of data acquisition and analysis, accredited technical validation, and transparent sharing of biological and clinical data.

CONCLUSION

Modern biobanks permit large-scale analysis for individuation of specific diseases biomarkers starting from biological or digital material (i.e., bioimages) with well-annotated clinical and biological data. These features are essential for improving personalized medical approaches, where effective biomarker identification is a critical step for disease diagnosis and prognosis.

Utilization of Archived Plasma to Detect Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Mutation in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients

Precision medicine has received increased attention as an effective approach for the treatment of cancer patients. Because of challenges associated with the availability of archived tissue, liquid biopsies are often performed to detect cancer-specific mutations. One of the major advantages of the liquid biopsy is that the treatment can be monitored longitudinally, even after the tumor tissue is no longer available. In a clinical setting, one component of precision medicine is the detection of cancer-specific mutations using archived samples. In this study, we evaluated the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation status of samples of lung cancer patients stored before introduction of the plasma EGFR test at our institution. The aim of this study was to validate the utility of archived plasma samples for detection of the EGFR mutation in nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. The Cobas^® EGFR Mutation Test v2 was the first liquid biopsy test approved as a companion diagnostic test for patients with NSCLC treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors. We tested for the EGFR mutation in 116 plasma samples archived in the biobank, and the results were compared with those obtained in the tissue or cytology EGFR mutation test. The EGFR mutation-positive rate from archived plasma was lower than that determined from tissue or cytology at 19.0% and 53.4%, respectively, and the concordance rate between the two tests was 58.6%. Of interest, five (4.3%) samples showed the T790M mutation in the plasma test, whereas this mutation was only detected in two (1.7%) tissue/cytology samples. Five (4.3%) samples were additionally positive in the plasma test. Overall, these results indicate that archived plasma samples can serve as an alternative source for the plasma EGFR mutation test when tissue samples are not available, and can improve precision medicine and long-term follow-up in a noninvasive manner.

Determinants of the willingness to participate in biobanking among Malaysian stakeholders in the Klang Valley

BACKGROUND

The demand in biobanking for the collection and maintenance of biological specimens and personal data from civilians to improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases has increased notably. Despite the advancement, certain issues, specifically those related to privacy and data protection, have been critically discussed. The purposes of this study are to assess the willingness of stakeholders to participate in biobanking and to determine its predictors.

METHODS

A survey of 469 respondents from various stakeholder groups in the Klang Valley region of Malaysia was carried out. Based on previous research, a multi-dimensional instrument measuring willingness to participate in biobanking, and its predictors, was constructed and validated. A single step Structural Equation Modelling was performed to analyse the measurements and structural model using the International Business Machines Corporation Software Package for Social Sciences, Analysis of Moment Structures (IBM SPSS Amos) version 20 with a maximum likelihood function.

RESULTS

Malaysian stakeholders in the Klang Valley were found to be cautious of biobanks. Although they perceived the biobanks as moderately beneficial (mean score of 4.65) and were moderately willing to participate in biobanking (mean score of 4.10), they professed moderate concern about data and specimen protection issues (mean score of 4.33). Willingness to participate in biobanking was predominantly determined by four direct predictors: specific application-linked perceptions of their benefits (β = 0.35, p < 0.001), issues of data and specimen protection (β = - 0.31, p < 0.001) and religious acceptance (β = 0.15, p < 0.05) and trust in key players (β = 0.20, p < 0.001). The stakeholders' willingness to participate in biobanking also involves the intricate relationships between the above-mentioned factors and other predictors, such as attitudes regarding technology, religiosity and engagement.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings of this study reaffirmed that stakeholders' willingness to participate in biobanking is a complex phenomenon that should be viewed from a multidimensional perspective. Stakeholder willingness to participate in biobanking is warranted when direct predictors (benefits, issues of data and specimen protection, religious acceptance, and trust in key players) as well as indirect factors are well accounted for.