MBTB Overview

Manitoba Breast Tumor Bank Overview

What is the Manitoba Breast Tumor Bank?
The Manitoba Breast Tumor Bank is a collection of tissue and related clinical data. The Bank operates within the Department of Pathology of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority and University of Manitoba, and CancerCare Manitoba. The Bank was originally established by the National Cancer Institute of Canada in 1993 with funds from the Canadian Cancer Society and is now supported by CancerCare Manitoba in partnership with the University of Manitoba and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). The Bank provides an important resource both for breast cancer research at the University of Manitoba and for researchers across Canada and internationally.

What does the Manitoba Breast Tumor Bank do?
During the assessment of each breast biopsy specimen small tissue samples are taken by Pathologists to process and examine under a microscope and these samples are then stored as a ‘clinical archive’. After all diagnosis has been completed the Bank organizes these tissues and related clinical data into ‘cases’ for both future research and future clinical purposes and stores these ‘cases’ in CancerCare Manitoba. Researchers can apply to study these cases only through a review process and if they obtain approval for their research project from an institutional ethics review board. If approved, researchers are provided with tissue sections and the related clinical information from a set of typically 100 or more ‘cases’. These cases are carefully selected from the computer database on the basis of selection criteria such as size and type of tumor that are relevant to the research question under study. All cases are distinguished by a Tumor Bank number but are anonymous due to the absence of any tag that might allow it to be traced to an individual patient. Researchers are charged to cover the costs of storage and release but no tissue or information is sold. The Bank has supported over 50 research studies on breast cancer across North America and Europe.

What information is stored and released?
The Bank stores three types of information on each case within a secure location in CancerCare Manitoba. This information relates to the tissue, clinical, and follow-up information. Tissue information includes the composition of the tissue, the size and type of tumor. Clinical information includes the patient age, clinical symptoms and the results of clinical tests such as x-rays. Follow-up information includes the type of treatment after surgery and the response to this treatment. Information is never released from the Bank with any label that might allow it to be traced to an individual. Information is only released as part of a set of anonymized cases, where each case is labeled by an anonymous tumor bank number and consists of a section of tissue with related information.

Who can I contact for more information about the Manitoba Breast Tumor Bank?
1) The Director of the Tumor Bank:
Dr Peter Watson, Professor,
Department of Pathology,
University of Manitoba.
Tel 204-789-3538,
email: pwatson@cc.umanitoba.ca

2) The University of Manitoba Ethics Review Board:
Tel: 204-789-3255

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