Biobanks are necessary resources for the storage and management of human biological materials, such as biofluids, tissues, cells, or nucleotides. They play a significant role in the development of ...new treatments and the advancement of basic and translational research, especially in the field of biomarkers discovery and validation. The regulatory landscape for biobanks, which is necessary to safeguard both privacy and scientific discoveries, exhibits significant heterogeneity across different countries and regions. This article outlines the standards that modern biobanks should fulfill in the European Union (EU), including general, structural, resource, process, and quality requirements. Special attention is given to the importance of transparency and donor consent following the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the ISO 20387:2018, the international standard specifies general requirements for biobanks. A dedicated section covers the preparation of donor information materials, emphasizing consent for research involvement and personal data processing. The delicate balance between donors' privacy rights and scientific research promotion is also discussed, with a focus on the patenting and economic use of biological material- derived inventions and data. Considering these factors, it would be warranted to refine legal frameworks and foster interdisciplinary collaboration to ethically and responsibly expand biobanking.
Background. Biobanks are vital research infrastructures aiming to collect, process, store, and distribute biological specimens along with associated data in an organized and governed manner. ...Exploiting diverse datasets produced by the biobanks and the downstream research from various sources and integrating bioinformatics and “omics” data has proven instrumental in advancing research such as cancer research. Biobanks offer different types of biological samples matched with rich datasets comprising clinicopathologic information. As digital pathology and artificial intelligence (AI) have entered the precision medicine arena, biobanks are progressively transitioning from mere biorepositories to integrated computational databanks. Consequently, the application of AI and machine learning on these biobank datasets holds huge potential to profoundly impact cancer research. Methods. In this paper, we explore how AI and machine learning can respond to the digital evolution of biobanks with flexibility, solutions, and effective services. We look at the different data that ranges from specimen-related data, including digital images, patient health records and downstream genetic/genomic data and resulting “Big Data” and the analytic approaches used for analysis. Results. These cutting-edge technologies can address the challenges faced by translational and clinical research, enhancing their capabilities in data management, analysis, and interpretation. By leveraging AI, biobanks can unlock valuable insights from their vast repositories, enabling the identification of novel biomarkers, prediction of treatment responses, and ultimately facilitating the development of personalized cancer therapies. Conclusions. The integration of biobanking with AI has the potential not only to expand the current understanding of cancer biology but also to pave the way for more precise, patient-centric healthcare strategies.
