International Childhood Cancer Day 2024
February 15, 2024
For International Childhood Cancer Day 2024, the NI Clinical Research Network wanted to highlight one of the amazing Childhood Cancer Research initiatives ongoing at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children. Alana Sharpe, Paediatric Clinical Oncology & Haematology Research Nurse, discussed the Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group (CCLG): Tissue Bank, a unique collaboration with Queens University, Belfast. Since 1998. Tissue Bank has been the UK’s largest collection of biological samples from childhood cancer patients, created with the sole purpose of supporting and accelerating research into childhood cancers. The Tissue Bank collects and stores a wide range of biological samples including frozen tumour, DNA, plasma, bone marrow as well as other different sample types.
Prof Richard Grundy, CCLG Chair said,
“Research is the driving force behind not only improving survival for children with cancer, but also minimising the harsh side effects of treatment through kinder treatments. CCLG is fully committed to developing and enhancing research in the UK”.
Tissue bank was created with the sole purpose of supporting and accelerating research into childhood cancers. Tissue Bank has recently merged with Cell Bank an initiative of Blood Cancer UK, comprised of samples donated by children diagnosed with leukaemia in the UK. These samples are available for use by UK-based researchers in peer-reviewed and fully-costed research projects into childhood leukaemia. At Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children, Tissue bank is supported by collaboration with the NI Cancer Trials Network and led by our Child Health clinical lead and Paediatric Oncology Consultant, Dr Anthony McCarthy.
Tissue bank and Cell bank will soon merge to become Vivo Biobank later this year, the UK’s leading resource dedicated to storing samples and data of cancers affecting children and young people.
This vital childhood cancer data is essential for further critical research into childhood cancers and will allow every child diagnosed with cancer the opportunity to contribute towards future research.
Including children in Belfast who will have access to ground breaking cancer clinical research.
Thank you to our amazing colleagues at the NI Cancer Trials Network, the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children, Queens University Belfast and beyond. The research you do saves lives.
To find out more about Childhood Cancer Trials in NI, click here:
https://nictn.hscni.net/by-cancer-type/childrens-cancer/
To find out more about the impact of CCLG Tissue Bank click here:
https://www.cclg.org.uk/our-research/impact
To find out more about the impact of Vivo Biobank click here:
https://vivobiobank.org/researchers/about