Bancos de tumores

Cancer is a worldwide public health problem. In Mexico it is the third cause of death, only after cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. It represents an important economic problem due to the high cost of health services, and its social impact is great, since it affects both the quality of life of patients and their relatives. The importance of these problems demands the participation of international cooperative groups focused on the development of projects that enhance both biomedical research and translational medicine. The obtaining, collecting, processing, storing, and use of tumor biological samples, including the patient’s clinical record, lead to the creation of tumor banks to support basic oncologic research. The creation of one or more of these banks, at national and regional level, just like the ones already functioning in other countries, is a need in Mexico. The National Cancer Institute has recently initiated such task in Mexico. An overview of tumor bank organizations in several countries is herein described as example of cooperative research in oncology.