Klin Onkol 2002; 15(2): 41-46.
Summary: The research of solid tumors has been shifting from the describing histomorphology to the molecular level and focuses mainly on prognostic and predictive factor studies. This increases demand on human tumor and non-tumor tissues linked to clinical data. Pathology departments handling human tissues in a usual way are insufficient for these purposes. That originates establishing tissue banks, which must follow some specific rules. Setting up a tissue bank, it is necessary to set the main objectives: which specimens will be stored, how many of them and for what purposes. One must consider the technical aspects, such as choosing donors, specimen removal, transport, processing and storage together with relevant data collection. Maintaining the tissue bank must follow contemporary ethical principles and must not contradict the law. Experience gained
in this field indicates intellectual and financial effectivness of these projects whose main long-term goal is to increase our medical knowledge with improvements in cancer patiens treatment.
