About Us

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Operating within The Children's Hospital at Westmead, the Tumour Bank coordinates the collection, storage and distribution of a large variety of paediatric biospecimens including malignant tumours, non-malignant tissue, bone marrow aspirates and peripheral blood samples.

Working in collaboration with pathologists, medical oncologists, surgeons and other hospital personnel, specially trained staff obtain patient consent, collect samples and assemble clinical information about each donor and their corresponding specimens.

The Tumour Bank collects samples for both retrospective and prospective studies, as well as samples for specific clinical trials.

Brief history

The Tumour Bank of The Children's Hospital at Westmead was established in 1998 with the financial assistance of benefactor funds donated to the Oncology Department to support research. Funds initially supported the purchase of our first -80C freezer and provided a part time staff member. In 2000, the Tumour Bank was formally funded by the Department of Health as a new research initiative within The Children's Hospital at Westmead.

The Tumour Bank became a founding member of the Australasian Biospecimens Network (ABN) in 2002, a national collaboration of biobanks working together to provide a forum to address technical, legal/ethical and managerial issues relevant to human biospecimen repositories within Australia and New Zealand.

Today, the Tumour Bank is an invaluable resource for researchers from around the world studying childhood cancer. The ultimate aim is to improve prevention, diagnosis and treatment for children with cancer.