From the Editor's Desk

B iopreservation and Biobanking views the growing field of biospecimen science as a critical component in the Journal's effort to support and improve biobanking across the world. The Journal is pleased to publish in this issue the abstracts from the Fifth Annual Biospecimen Research Network (BRN) Symposium, “Advancing Cancer Research Through Biospecimen Science,” which took place in Bethesda, MD, USA, on February 22–23, 2012. The purpose of the BRN Symposium, sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, is to address the significant impact of biospecimen variability on cancer research and molecular medicine.

Human biospecimens provide the critical link between molecular and clinical information in research and development as well as in patient diagnosis and treatment. However, a great deal of variability pervades the collection, processing, storage, and annotation of the majority of human specimens available for research. These heterogeneous biospecimen handling procedures can affect the quality and reproducibility of data, thus impeding progress in translational research.

“Biospecimen Science” is the term coined to describe the study of how different biospecimen procedures affect biospecimen molecular integrity. The NCI established the BRN in 2006 to establish a scientific evidence base in Biospecimen Science in order to support basic and translational research, develop evidence-based standard operating procedures, and increase the quality and reproducibility of cancer research data. The BRN facilitates research through a multifaceted program that includes the BRN Symposium, the online Biospecimen Research Database that now includes summaries of over 1100 publications, and the BRN extramural research program. Ongoing efforts include innovative research to define biospecimen quality and targeted research projects that will inform the development and adoption of scientific evidence-based, standardized biospecimen handling procedures and tools for use in research and clinical procedures. Additional biospecimen research projects are being developed within OBBR's caHUB program.

The 2012 BRN Symposium attracted more than 400 onsite and 130 videocast participants and more than 100 abstracts were submitted. The speaker and poster abstracts are presented in this issue, and the archived presentations and webcast are available online at http://biospecimens.cancer.gov/meeting/brnsymposium/2012/. The symposium featured presentations that described efforts in the BRN and across the world to better understand the scientific effects of existing biospecimen practices and develop new, evidence-based biospecimen protocols. Better access to high-quality biospecimens will be key to advancing molecular medicine and will require cooperation across the biomedical research enterprise. The BRN Symposium organizers thank the abstract authors and all attendees for their participation in this important symposium and for their efforts to advance cancer research.