<b>An International Leiomyosarcoma Tissue Bank</b>

When Willie Sutton, a notorious bank robber, was asked why he robbed banks, he replied, "That's where the money is."  If LMS tissue blocks, tissue cultures and frozen tissue are easily available in large numbers to medical researchers, more research will be done on LMS.   There will be enough samples of different tumors to validate their research on LMS.

If there is an International Leiomyosarcoma Tissue Bank, then all manner of LMS research becomes possible.

The International LMS Tissue Bank would store 
LMS tumor tissue
leiomyoma tissue 
normal uterine smooth muscle tissue
normal smooth muscle tissue
This is important, because some research is aimed at the differences between normal tissue and the tumors associated with that tissue.

The Tissue Bank could provide LMS cell lines--
for research on new chemotherapy agents and regimes by means of chemoresistance testing
for research on which enzyme systems drive LMS to grow and reproduce
for research on chemical monkey wrenches to throw at those enzyme systems.  

The Tissue Bank could provide LMS tissue blocks in paraffin wax, for research on markers and gene products, to see if a new targeted molecular drug might have a spin-off for LMS treatment as well.  

The Tissue Bank could provide flash frozen LMS tissue, for gene expression profiling, and for proteomic studies.

Currently, tests done on LMS tissue are done on small numbers, because there is no major collection.  LMS tissue is hard to get, it is a rare cancer.  If LMS tissue is stored in one bank, there can be hundreds of tumors represented there.  Researchers can easily request a batch, or a microarray, and test the LMS tumors for markers or enzymes or whatever their interest is. It would make LMS tissue easily available in large numbers to people doing original research.   It makes it more likely that an original researcher would think of LMS and actually see if the current research is applicable to LMS, simply because the tissue IS available. 
Usually, Tissue Bank rules do not allow results of research tests done on the tissue be given to the donor.  The reason for this is that research results are not always clear in their implications, and cannot have the same quality controls that path labs have for routine well established tests.  The uncertainties of measurement and meaning allow for considerable confusion and possible liabilities.

<b>An International Leiomyosarcoma Data Base</b>

Would you like to walk into your oncologist's office after your LMS diagnosis, and have him tell you: "We have done the genetic and proteomic profiling on your LMS tumor, and these are the drugs that will work for you."  

Flash frozen or fresh tumor tissue can be genetically profiled.  This means that all of the many variations of mutations that LMS has, would be tabulated.  And each tumor's response to treatment with specific drugs can be correlated with the mutations it has, since the Data Base would have the genetic profiles of many tumors as well as the clinical course and response to drugs.  With GIST tumors, we know now that certain mutations mean that Gleevec will work very well on those tumors, but others indicate poorer response.   It would be useful to have this information for LMS for drug resistance and sensitivity.  [1]


<b>An International Leiomyosarcoma Patient Registry</b>

For more valid survival statistics.  
For better Data Base collection.



1. Friedrich, MJ. Genomics and Proteomics May Help Clinicians Individualize Cancer Treatment. JAMA 287:22
