National Cancer Institute - NCI Division of Cancer Treatment and ...

As a result of the workshop, the National
Institute of Standards and Technology
(NIST) agreed to produce a NIST-certifiable
standard and a commercially developed
standard for use in all Her2 testing. Workshop
participants agreed that all Her2 testing
must be done on samples fixed only in
10 percent buffered formalin, as specified
in the FDA-approved testing methods.
Finally, they decided to plan strategies
to educate pathologists, clinicians, and
laboratories about the need for and use
of standards. A joint meeting of the American
Society of Clinical Oncology and the
College of American Pathologists in 2006
will finalize practice guidelines for Her2
testing in clinical practice.
Melanoma Research Foundation
http://www.melanoma.org
Skin cancers are the most common of
all cancers. One in five Americans will
develop skin cancer in their lifetime.
Although molecular profiling data to
help identify biomarkers for early detection
are collected for solid tumors such
as those associated with breast and colon
cancers, similar approaches in the field of
skin cancer research are lagging behind.
The lack of high-quality tissue resources
is a major barrier in identifying and validating
biomarkers for disease management.
CDP and the Melanoma Research
Foundation convened melanoma research
experts in February 2004 to identify areas
of common interest and suggest new
research resources for melanoma diagnosis
and prognosis. As a result of the workshop,
CDP provided supplemental funding
to six institutions for tissue collection to be
used to develop tissue microarrays (TMAs).
NCI has produced a progression TMA that
will be available to the melanoma community
in 2006.
More than 50 prominent melanoma
researchers met in October 2005 for the
Resources for Melanoma Research Workshop,
which was cosponsored by CDP,
the skin cancer SPORE program at NCI,
and the Melanoma Research Foundation.
Researchers and clinicians from the major
U.S. melanoma research centers discussed
recent advances in biomarkers for diagnosis,
prognosis, and prediction. Participants
agreed that establishing a melanoma TMA
bank would aid biomarker development.
This bank will include the TMAs developed
as a result of the first meeting and by
the SPORE program. CDP will coordinate
this activity to provide these valuable
resources to the melanoma research
community.
CDP is also involved in NCI melanoma
focus groups in conjunction with the
Melanoma Research Foundation and
melanoma community investigators.
These groups are identifying and coming
to consensus on the directions needed
to make progress in melanoma research.
It is anticipated that another meeting
will take place in 2007.
National Human Genome
Research Institute
http://www.genome.gov
As a result of a collaboration with NCI
scientists, the National Human Genome
Research Institute exported TMA technology
to NCI. With the support of CDP,
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