SPECIMEN BANKS FOR CANCER PROGNOSTIC FACTOR RESEARCH

Prognostic factors are necessary for determining whether a patient wil l require therapy, for selecting the optimal therapy, and for evaluati ng the effectiveness of the therapy chosen. Research in prognostic fac tors has been hampered by long waiting times and a paucity of outcomes . Specimen banks can solve these problems, but their implementation an d use give rise to many important and complex issues. This paper prese nts an overview of some of the issues related to the use of specimen b anks in prognostic factor research.