Applying for Tissue from the Resource
	Applying for Tissue Microarrays from the Resource

Applying for Tissue from the Resource

The CBCTR application process is simple and straightforward. The process is outlined below:

1. You submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) to the resource. This letter is to tell us about your research plan so that we can determine whether the CBCTR is the most appropriate resource and whether the required specimens are available.

2. The CBCTR Research Evaluation Panel (REP) will review your LOI as rapidly as possible. If they have any questions about your letter we will contact you directly (via e-mail or telephone) to discuss their concerns.

3. Once your LOI is approved, you will be asked to submit a more detailed research plan with the CBCTR application form. A REP member will be assigned to guide you through the application process.

4. The REP will review your application and work with you to resolve any remaining scientific issues. They will then make a recommendation to the CBCTR Coordinating Committee, which makes the final decision on providing the specimens and data. If the CBCTR cannot meet your needs, we will attempt to identify an appropriate resource with the required specimens and data.

Applying for Tissue Microarrays from the Resource

The CBCTR application process for progression tissue microarray slides is simple and straightforward. The process is outlined below:

1. You submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) to the resource. This letter is to tell us about your research plan to help us determine whether progression array slides are appropriate to answer the question you are posing.

2. The CBCTR Research Evaluation Panel (REP) will review your LOI as rapidly as possible. If they have any questions about your letter we will contact you directly (via e-mail or telephone) to discuss their concerns.

3. Once your LOI is reviewed, you will be informed of the outcome and if approved, when you can expect to receive the slides you requested. No further application will be required.

NOTE TO INVESTIGATORS CONSIDERING A LETTER OF INTENT FOR TMAs:
All TMA sections are inspected by the CBCTR prior to shipment and judged to be of acceptable quality. Please note that it is typical for some spots on the TMA to be missing or not to contain the intended target tissue. These difficulties are inherent to the TMA construction process and the nature of breast tissue, and are not unique to CBCTR TMAs. Our quality control studies have indicated that missing or incorrect target tissue may occur with a frequency as high as approximately 25-30%, depending on the depth at which the sections were cut from the TMA block. The TMAs have been designed with these rates in mind, and the number of cases represented on the TMA has been increased to account for the expected rate of unusable cores. You might also observe some distortion of the sections and some rolling or folding of certain tissue spots, particularly for the larger DCIS and normal tissue spots. It is our experience that these distortions generally do not significantly limit the ability to obtain reliable assay readings. Additional spot loss may occur during the assay procedure, with the rate of loss dependent on the assay conditions. Customer feedback indicates that our TMAs perform well for most immunostaining methods and in situ hybridization assays.

The CBCTR cannot accept returns of unused TMAs.