Fatemeh Ghasemi-Kebria
1 
, Nastaran Jafari-Delouie
1, Taghi Amiriani
1, Alireza Norouzi
1, Behnoush Abedi-Ardekani
2, Dariush Nasrollahzadeh
3,2, Mohammad Ashaari
4, Sima Besharat
1, Mohammad Naeimi-Tabiei
5, Isen Gharanjic
1, Zahra Babapalangi
1, Hossein Poustchi
3, Shahryar Semnani
6,1, Abdolreza Fazel
5, Zisis Kozlakidis
7, Elisabete Weiderpass
8, Gholamreza Roshandel
1* 1 Golestan Research Center of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran
2 International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), World Health Organization (WHO), Lyon, France
3 Digestive Oncology Research center, Digestive Disease Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
4 Department of Pathology, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran
5 Cancer Research Center, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran
6 Omid Cancer Research Center, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran
7 Laboratory Service and Biobank Group, International Agency for Research on Cancer, World Health Organization (WHO), Lyon, France
8 Office of the Director, International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), World Health Organization (WHO), Lyon, France.
Abstract
Background: We aim to present the development and the initial results of the Golestan Cancer Biobank (GoCB), in a low resource setting in northern Iran.
Methods: The GoCB protocol and its standard operation procedures (SOP) were developed according to internationally accepted standards and protocols with some modifications considering the limited resources in our setting. The main biological samples collected by the GoCB include blood sample, urine sample, fresh endoscopy tissue sample, fresh surgical tissue sample and formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissue sample. The GoCB collects patients’ demographic data, tumor characteristics as well as data on risk factors. We developed a specific GoCB software for management of patient data and biological sample information. The GoCB dataset is annually linked with the Golestan cancer registry dataset to add complementary data (e.g., survival data).
Results: The GoCB started collection of data and biological samples in December 2016. By November 2020, a total number of 1217 cancer patients participated in the GoCB. The majority of the GoCB participants (n = 942, 77%) were those with gastrointestinal and breast cancers. Data on risk factors were successfully collected in 684 (56.2%) of the participants. Overall, 3563 samples were collected from the GoCB participants and 730 samples were used in 7 national and international research projects.
Conclusion: We considered specific strategies to overcome major limitations, especially budget shortage, in the development and maintenance of a cancer-specific biological repositories in our setting. The GoCB may be considered as a model for the development of biobank in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).