Did you know that cc-TDI is home to our very own bio-banking registry known as CuRe-FAST? In 2015, Dr. Keller and the cc-TDI team recognized the increased need for pre-clinical research of rare pediatric cancers. Soon thereafter, the CuRe-FAST or Cancer Registry for Familial and Sporadic Tumors was established, enabling cc-TDI to collect tumor tissue that can be studied, developed into cell lines and mouse models and ultimately shared with other researchers. While other tumor banking programs exist, the vast majority of them are designed to simply store tissue samples and determine patient eligibility for clinical trials. What results can be very limited access of these samples to the scientific community.
What’s unique about the CuRe-FAST program is that it offers a unique partnership with families, treating institutions and the world-wide pediatric cancer research community. We receive tissue samples from across the country from patients and families dedicated to leaving a legacy for future generations. We pride ourselves in offering low-barrier access to tumor samples, cell lines and mouse models in an effort to efficiently and effectively move childhood cancer research toward clinical treatment options.
Cell lines and mouse models (aka study models) for many rare cancer types simply do not exist, which limits research options and knowledge about these diseases. CuRe-FAST not only stores tumor and tissue samples that come to us, but our team creates cell lines and mouse models to use in-house as well as share with researchers around the world. These study models include de-identified patient demographic and clinical data (medical records, pathology reports, scans, demographics, treatment history, etc). They also include functional data such as drug sensitivities from drug screens performed at cc-TDI and DNA/RNA sequencing data performed on the samples received. We believe that these informed study models and low barrier approaches to access ultimately helps push cancer research forward.
CuRe-FAST was asked to join the Children’s Oncology Group’s (COG) Biopathology Center in 2020 which allows researchers around the world to request samples for their studies. This year alone cc-TDI has shared 79 samples from 49 patients with the BPC! The sharing of these with the COG led cc-TDI join the pediatric Cooperative Human Tissue Network’s Pediatric Division (pCHTN) to share specimens collected within the CuRe-FAST program. We are excited to formally partner with both the COG and the pCHTN to share tissue samples with a wide network of international researchers. We could not fund this program without the ongoing support from the Sam Day Foundation, Maddie’s Promise Foundation and the Childhood Cancer Project. If you are interested in joining our community of supporters, please consider a donation today. For more information on how to participate or if you are a researcher interested in receiving de-identified samples, please contact Andy@cc-tdi.org for more details.
