Specimen Types

The CHTN obtains tissues from routine surgical resections and autopsies. In addition, remnant body fluids (e.g., serum, leukapheresis products, pleural effusions) are available on some patients and limited histological services (e.g., frozen sections) can be obtained by special arrangement. Normal tissues (i.e. microscopically uninvolved by disease) commonly available from surgical resections include skeletal muscle, skin, bone, cartilage, connective tissue, breast, adipose tissue, small and large intestine, arteries, veins, thyroid, lung, gynecological tissues, kidney, spleen, tonsils, testes, salivary glands and oral mucosa. Various pathological tissues also are obtained from surgical resections including head and neck malignancies and carcinomas of the lung, gastrointestinal tract, breast, genitourinary system, prostate, kidney, and skin. In addition to the above more common specimens that are provided from surgical resections to investigators on a regional basis, access to rare tumors, e.g., neuroendocrine tumors and sarcomas, is provided from all divisions via networking. Pediatric tumors, diseased and normal tissues are available nationwide.

Additional normal tissues can be obtained from autopsies. These include liver, pancreas, adrenals, brain, pituitary, lymph nodes, heart, and thymus.

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