Int’l Melanoma Tissue Bank Consortium

The Time Is Now.

It’s one of the fastest-growing cancers in the United States and worldwide. It’s one of the most complex forms of cancer. It has the most mutations of all solid cancers. It’s the second most common cancer in those 15-29 years old.

Thousands are dying each year.

AIM at Melanoma intends to change that. AIM is boldly doing something that no other research institution, foundation, or medical center has done for melanoma.

AIM has brought together six esteemed institutions and researchers to establish the first collaborative melanoma tissue bank consortium.

Together, we are collecting more than 500 fresh-frozen primary melanoma tissue samples and corresponding patient data—and then performing much-needed research with those samples to answer some of melanoma’s most critical questions:

• Who will develop melanoma, and why?
• Whose melanomas will spread and become deadly?
• Which drugs will work on which patients?

Ultimately, the International Melanoma Tissue Bank Consortium (IMTBC) will help us make significant progress toward finding the cure.

A Global First

A fresh-frozen primary tissue bank—fully annotated and collaborative—has never been achieved before in melanoma, and it has taken more than a decade of dedicated work to accomplish.  The IMTBC is a global first because of the following combination of factors: 

• It’s a consortium—the six institutions are sharing data and tissue samples with each other
• It’s collaborative—researchers around the world can apply to obtain tissue samples and data for research
• The tissue will be fresh frozen—RNA is preserved, unlike in the standard formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded process
• The tumors are primary—not metastasized 
• There will be a critical mass—a goal of 500 in the first two years, and continued collection thereafter
• Full annotation will accompany each tissue—patient data, including full medical history (personalized), will be available for study along with the tissue
• Samples will accompany each tissue—blood and urine samples will be collected for each patient

Why Is The Tissue So Important?

What Will Researchers Do That They Can’t Do Now?

Approved research projects include using the tissue to:

Identify the difference in gene signatures between benign moles and primary melanoma.

IMAGINE: We’re able to develop a diagnostic test—to know quickly and easily which moles and skin lesions are potentially deadly and which are benign.

Compare the gene signatures of a patient’s primary tumor vs. lymph node or distant metastatic melanoma tumors, to determine the molecular factors involved in progression of the tumor in the patient.

IMAGINE: We’re able to accurately tell which patients’ melanomas will spread—and where; which will become deadly; and which will not.

Evaluate the role that the primary tumor has on impacting the immune system, the lymph nodes, and distant sites where the tumor may spread.

IMAGINE: We’re able to discover new approaches to reinvigorating the anti-tumor function of immune cells—and let our immune systems fight off the cancer.

Understand how the metabolism in the original tumor impacts the aggressiveness of the tumor and its response to immunotherapy.

IMAGINE: We’re able to understand which melanomas will respond to immunotherapy and why, so we can develop treatments that work for all patients.

Help Us Find The Cure

We know from other cancers that significant discoveries will emerge from collaborative research on fresh-frozen primary tissue samples and corresponding patient data.

We know from other cancers that fresh-frozen tissue, retaining both high-quality DNA and RNA, will contain the genetic biomarkers critical to advancing personalized medicine.

We know from other cancers that a tissue bank is an essential step on the road to conquering melanoma.

We know the time is now.