Table 5.

Ethical, legal, privacy, and practical aspects of sample storage, sharing, and shipment between research groups.

• Age-appropriate information sheets must explain the purpose of the planned research, the recipients of the material and the use of anonymized or pseudonymized clinical data

• Coupling of tumor material data to patient data, including treatment and imaging findings

• Ethical approval and permissions from international, national, or local authorities

• A monitoring system for available samples and for associated informed consents per local hospital

• Ownership issues relating to biological tissue and clinical data, which might be different between countries, should be considered

• Advantages of centralized vs. decentralized (virtual) tumor banking and procedures to check for appropriate tissue representation for interpretable biological results should be considered

• Adequate coverage of the local costs and shipment of samples by research grants can facilitate the compliance of local institutions

• Integrated, reusable tumor box devices can facilitate the shipment of frozen and unfrozen materials

• Practical aspects of exchange and use of biological samples should be defined by MTAs between institutions