The Mário Penna Institute received authorization from the National Research Ethics Committee (CONEP) to implement the first Tumor Biobank in the State of Minas Gerais. It is the only one in a philanthropic hospital in the state that serves more than 80% of its patients through the SUS and will be operational from next year.
Dr. Letícia Braga, Coordinator of the Translational Research Laboratory of the Teaching and Research Nucleus (NEP), will be responsible for the activities at IMP. She explains that Biobanks consist of a sophisticated and well-organized system of programmed storage of biological material (blood, CSF, tumor and normal tissues) and corresponding data, which are accessible for scientific investigation and for the treatment of cancer.
“For implementation, we received financial support through the National Oncology Program (PRONON). Initially, Biobanco will provide samples of tumor and non-tumor tissue from the breast and ovary, including biomolecules such as DNA, RNA and protein. We will have the capacity to store patients’ biological materials through cryopreservation (-80ºC and -180ºC), in addition to our own system for storing the entire clinical and epidemiological history of patients, which will be integrated into the National Biobanks System”; account Dr. Leticia.
And what makes Instituto Mário Penna different from having a Biobank?
At Biobanco, samples are stored with quality allowing cellular, molecular or systemic studies, using different types of technologies, such as Liquid Biopsy, sequencing and Flow Cytometry, as well as having access to clinical data of patients with the response to treatment, recurrence , prognosis, among others.
“The biological samples stored at Biobanco will be available to researchers from the institution itself or to any other (national or international) that wants to establish partnerships/collaborations for research and development. With this, the Mário Penna Institute, in addition to being recognized for the excellent care of cancer patients, becomes one of the main actors in the generation of knowledge and products in oncology in the context of the SUS”; emphasizes Dr. Leticia.