The Tumor Tissue and Pathology Shared Resource (TTPSR) at Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center (WFBCCC) consists of four well-integrated laboratories, all equipped with state-of-the-art instrumentation and overseen by certified pathologists and trained staff:

  • Tumor Procurement Lab - Providing access to more than 44,000 vials of human tumor tissue specimens with matched adjacent normal tissues from both primary and metastatic lesions available for cancer research.
  • Human Pathology Lab - Providing support for routine histological, histochemical, and immunohistochemical applications for tissues specifically collected for cancer research.
  • Comparative Pathology Lab - A fully functional laboratory that emphasizes the diagnostic and experimental pathology of both rodent and nonhuman primate models of cancer.
  • Organoid Processing Lab  -  Integrating tissue acquisition to create tumor organoids to support precision medicine research,  grow and study rare cancers, support immunotherapy screening  studies, and provide a personalized platform to test new drugs.

Mission

The mission of the TTPSR is to facilitate translational cancer research by:

  • Collecting and supplying high-quality, well-characterized human and animal tissues (neoplastic and normal)
  • Providing various pathology services to WFBCCC investigators

The TTPSR carries out this mission by:

  • Maintaining a repository of patient-derived tumors and matched normal tissues in addition to tissues from other species that are accompanied by pertinent clinical information
  • Facilitating investigators’ access to available tumor and normal tissues, serum, plasma, and white blood cell data via Translational Data Warehouse and Informatics for Integrating Biology and the Bedside (i2b2), as well as the Shared Resource’s web-based biospecimen management tool, in a regulatory-compliant manner.
  • Providing scientific and pathology expertise to support the development of clinical protocols, grant applications, and manuscripts

The TTPSR also assists investigators with the customized collection of fresh human and animal tissue samples for prospective translational research projects.

Examples of Science Supported

  • Brain metastasis working group
  • Appendiceal cancer research group
  • Ovarian cancer
  • Papillary thyroid cancer
  • Prostate cancer
  • Breast cancer
  • Radiation research
  • Colon cancer
  • HIV research
  • Vaccine development