Understanding the Four Key Components to Successful Cancer Research

Cancer can and will be stamped out, one type at a time. We only need to create as many opportunities as possible for our scientists to reach breakthrough discoveries through their research. These opportunities can be created by nearly any type of person, from cancer tissue donors to the scientists themselves.

If your lab is thinking about conducting cancer research, or is looking to optimize how it conducts its current cancer research, then you should have a thorough understanding of how to make the most out of the four key components for successful cancer research.

1. The cancer tissue donors
Without cancer tissue donations, no cancer research whatsoever can occur. In order to help ensure that all labs, including yours, have access to an adequate supply of cancer tissue samples, you should help motivate as many tissue donations as possible.

Although you almost certainly do not want your lab to transform into an organization solely focused on charitable donations, participating in the effort to increase the number of donations of cancer tissues to at least some degree will greatly help your cause. These types of actions also highlight your lab's efforts to learn more about cancer and could result in the targeted donation of cancer tissues to your lab.

2. The human tissue banks
Even if the scientific community were saturated with samples of donated cancer tissues, gaining access to this tissue is not necessarily an easy endeavor; the logistics of it can be mind-boggling. That is why we have experts.

Human tissue banks that store cancer tissues alleviate this problem by not only handling all of the logistics of acquiring and storing human tissue, but also by providing you with access to it in a timely fashion. Many of them even provide same day delivery service. However, finding a human tissue bank that fits your needs is not always an easy endeavor. To make sure that their services will work for your lab, you should make sure that they do the following things:

•    Rapid delivery
•    Quality storage (damaged tissue samples are usually worthless to you)
•    Customizable sampling orders
•    Tissue variety
•    An experienced team

3. Your lab equipment
Your lab's equipment should enhance the efficiency of your cancer research endeavors, not hinder them. Take the time to keep up with the lab equipment market. Many pieces of equipment only offer minor updates that are not worth the investment. Others, however, will be exactly what your lab needs to take the possibilities of your research to the next level.

4. Your research team
Your lab's research team is almost as invaluable to the process of cancer research as the cancer tissue donors themselves.

A lab can become so insular that the researchers within begin to lose track of the outside world. However, keeping up to date with the latest happenings in the scientific community, whether directly or indirectly related to your cancer research, could help you catapult your research endeavors to the next level.
Make sure your scientists are informed.

How iKnife Technology will Revolutionize the Way We Collect Cancer Tissue

The name iKnife may sound like the name a certain technology company would give its products if it ever branched into the kitchen cutlery business, but you can rest assured that intelligent knife (iKnife) technology is revolutionizing the way we excise cancer tissue.

What is iKnife technology?
Normal electrosurgical knives removes tissue using a sharp edge and a rapid heating element to vaporize the tissue that it directly contacts; this creates clean cuts that allow for the quick and easy excision of cancer tissues. The iKnife technology takes this action a step farther. When an electrosurgical knife vaporizes tissue, it creates a tissue fragment containing aerosol that is usually disposed of by vacuum extraction tools; instead of allowing this vapor to go to waste, an iKnife immediately collects and analyzes this aerosol vapor, and determines whether or not it includes cancerous tissue within seconds. This vastly improves the accuracy of surgical cutting.

How will iKnife technology aid in the collection of cancer tissue?
First and foremost, improving the speed of surgical cuts increases patient safety during excision procedures. Current excision procedures require the separate collection and rapid evaporative ionization mass spectrometry (REMS) testing of excised tissue to determine whether or not it is cancerous. The separate (REMS) process can take up to 30 minutes and the patient remains under anesthesia during this time; finding ways to reduce patient anesthesia time has always been a key element in improving patient safety during surgical procedures.

iKnife excision is also improving the precision of cancer excision procedures. This precision further improves the safety of the patient during an excision procedure by instantaneously confirming that the tissue being excised is indeed cancer tissue. In addition, a large percentage of cancer patients have to undergo multiple surgeries to remove cancer tissue that was missed during the initial excision procedure--this number is 20% for breast cancer lumpectomies--the increased precision of iKnife technology will greatly reduce the number of occurrences of multiple excision treatments AND cancer relapses. This precision also enhances the ability for scientists to collect cancer tissues in the largest possible volumes for biological research; this will be a huge boon for biological research involving especially rare cancer tissues such as most sarcomas and endocrine organ cancers.

In the world of biological science, where a single experiment can take months, or even years, efficiency is everything. By improving the accuracy and volume of cancer tissue excisions, iKnife technology is inherently improving the speed of the excision of cancer tissues.

Where can iKnife surgical technology be acquired?
The iKnife technology is still undergoing development to maximize the potential of iKnives in practical settings. Clinical testing thus far has yielded excellent results and researchers are working to maximize the cost effectiveness of the tool.

Importance of Correct Extraction and Storage of Biological Samples

Blood is one of the most sensitive biological samples in existence. Collecting blood samples is a more involved process than sticking a subject and sucking fluid into a vial. Improperly collecting blood samples exponentially increases the likelihood of hemolysis. To avoid this, you should utilize the correct equipment and employ a trained phlebotomist who can properly extract the sample.

Why Use a Phelbotomist Instead of a Regular Staff Member?

The process of extracting blood samples is exposed to many variables, including the extraction and collection/storage equipment available, the subject's vein size and the laws of physics.

Vein selection

Many who are untrained to extract blood samples will use a syringe to probe for the vein. This causes vein trauma, will destroy red blood cells and is likely to cause immediate hemolysis. Although vein trauma can occur regardless of the extractor's skill level, trained phelbotomists know how to recognize it; when this happens, they know that the first sample is likely hemolyzed, but subsequent extractions are unlikely to be damaged.

Phelbotomists will also choose the correct sized vein. Blood extracted from veins too small for the extraction equipment available is likely to hemolyze.

Collection/storage

Improper collection procedures are just as likely to damage a biological samples as poor extraction. As experts, phelbotomists are sure to collect the right amount of blood for storage (underfilled tubes alter the additive ratio; poor additive ratios lead to hemolysis). They also make recommendations for the best storage methods.

Tool selection

Regardless of the tools available, phelbotomists choose or request the best tools for the extraction and collection/storage process. This prevents your lab from processing a large collection of samples, only to realize that the entire procedure has been ruined by hemolysis.

Other procedures

Properly executing other seemingly minor procedures can be the difference between having a good sample and one destroyed by hemolysis. For example, a phelbotomist knows that you must allow alcohol to completely dry before attempting blood sample extraction, because the chemical might invade the sample and cause hemolysis.

Why Blood Sample Extraction and Collection/Storage Equipment Should be Chosen Carefully

Extraction equipment

If a needle is too large, it will force blood into the tube violently, causing the red blood cells to rupture; if a needle is too small, it will draw the blood through the syringe with excessive force, shearing the red blood cells. Both of these eventualities is likely to cause hemolysis. You should take the utmost care with your extraction equipment selection.

Collection/storage equipment

If at all possible, you should choose evacuated tube collection over syringe collection; syringe collection has proven to be over six times more likely to result in hemolysis than evacuated tube collection.

For storage of biological samples, you should use modern evacuated tubes, which make rim clots unnecessary. You should only mix the tube through gentle inversions. NEVER shake the sample. Storage temperatures should be regulated. Finally, always be cautious when transporting the specimen, as rough handling can lead to hemolysis-causing trauma; hand deliver blood samples whenever possible.