Funded by a $3.8 million award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, CIHR, the Canadian Tumour Repository Network, CTRNet, has announced the creation of a national
tumor bank registry and research network that will enable cancer researchers worldwide to obtain access to a
comprehensive source of tumor tissue samples and clinical data in understanding cancer at the molecular level.
Currently, CTRNet has more than 7,000 samples banked. "We know that current cancer therapies work well for a lot of patients but are not successful for others with the same diagnosis. We are trying to find out why this happens so that we can tailor treatment to individuals with greater certainty of success. The availability of tumor samples will allow cancer researchers to investigate the relationship between the genetic and biological properties of a tumor and a patient's response to cancer treatment," states Dr. Philip Branton, CIHR's scientific director.
