El Biobanco Institucional como pilar de las ciencias médicas

A systematic review of biobanks in Latin America: Strengths and limitations for biomedical research

Biobanks are valuable tools for developing and applying scientific research and international cooperation through the collection of biological materials and their associated data. Systematic research following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis guidelines was conducted in late 2022 in PubMed and Scopus, and generated 17 articles to be reviewed in depth and critically assessed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme Checklist due to the limited available data; 12 relevant health organizations and government websites outside of peer-reviewed journals were also included. Our research identified 44 biobanks in Latin America. In general, there is a lack of regulation and legislation guaranteeing the stored materials' quality and institutional collaboration. We believe a consensus needs to be reached regarding the terminology and definitions used for biobanks. The design for informed consent should also be agreed upon to ensure the privacy of the data shared among institutions. In conclusion, in Latin America, there is a clear need for government support in creating specific procedures for biobanks and providing further support for existing biobanks.

Highlights from the 7th Oncological Pathology Conference 'Pathological Anatomy in the context of the National Cancer Law: An overview of the Latin American experience', 15, 22 and 23 July 2022, Trujillo, Peru

The seventh session of the Oncological Pathology Conference (JoPaO) entitled 'Pathological Anatomy in the context of the National Cancer Law: An overview of the Latin American experience', was held virtually on July 15, 22 and 23. Peru was the headquarters for this event, where 17 national and international professors of high academic standing participated. They interacted in a multidisciplinary context through talks with national panellists and the general public. The recent promulgation of the 'National Cancer Law' fosters the development of discussion forums to analyse the national realities and uphold continuous learning about experiences in other Latin American countries with successful cancer programmes, in which pathology holds a principal role. The topics addressed during this JoPaO included the exchange of Latin American cancer management experiences, an emphasis on investments in and the development of strategic plans to improve care, the use of new technologies, laboratory quality control, and the need to advance scientific research.

A multidisciplinary approach to the Biobank concept: integrative review

Biobanks are multidisciplinary infrastructures and, accordingly, this integrative research seeks to bring out the concept of biobank in the various sciences that construct and interpret it, so as to arrive at a holistic understanding of its essential components. This integrative review - guided by PRISMA and with quality assessment following CASPe - resulted in a selection of 30 articles. Data were analysed by Aristotelian categories and the results were interpreted on the complexity paradigm of Edgar Morin. The biobank concept was clarified by considering it to be the representation of a biological, social and cultural phenomenon in which knowledge and practices from diverse scientific fields enter into complementary, antagonistic and ambiguous types of relationship. This network of signification, analysed here using categories from Aristotelian philosophy, has impacts on the construction of subjectivity and forms of socialisation.

Comparison of Automated and Manual DNA Isolation Methods of Liquid-Based Cytology Samples

Liquid-based cytology (LBC) has been used as a diagnostic tool for cervical cancer for years and is now being adopted for other gynecological cancers. LBC represents an important challenge to ensure that the process yields representative biospecimens for quality control (QC) of diagnostic procedures. In this study, we compare QC parameters (integrity, yield and purity, and polymerase chain reaction [PCR] amplification) of DNA isolated from LBC (N = 296) using two different nucleic acid isolation methods, manual (n = 233) or automated (n = 63). We also evaluated two different types of cytological brushes for sampling from the cervix. Our results suggest that manual isolation (yield 22.81 ± 1.92 μg) resulted in increased DNA recovery when compared with automated isolation (yield 9.96 ± 1.11 μg) from LBC samples, with a p-value of <0.0003. We estimated that 98% (53/54) of the samples preserved the integrity of DNA and were suitable for standard molecular biology analyses. The β-globin gene was amplified in 100% (296/296) of the DNA samples by endpoint PCR. We found no significant difference between the performance of the cytological brushes (p value of <0.6711) in a general overview. However, when looking at the results from using each brush individually, the manual isolation method was statistically superior to the automated method. Our work illustrates the impact of good QC of preanalytic conditions, which will be important for the application of LBC for developing early detection methods for gynecological cancers.