Clinical Research

Prostate and renal cancer research studies

As a Dana-Farber Cancer Institute patient, you're being asked to participate in a research study designed to help doctors and scientists understand the basic biology and genetics of prostate and renal cancer, which ultimately may help people in the future. Please review the following information, which describes the research and what is involved in participating.

During your appointment, a study coordinator will meet with you to discuss the study and answer any questions you may have. Your participation is completely voluntary and will not affect your medical care and/or benefits should you decide not to participate.

What is the purpose of the study?

• To obtain tissue and blood specimens from patients with prostate or renal cancer so that we may create a bank of specimens supporting prostate cancer research.
• To use this tissue and blood to study the DNA, RNA, and proteins that are found in both prostate and renal tumors and in normal prostate and renal tissue.

When will specimens be taken from me?

• Blood will be drawn at the same time as routine blood draws. You will be asked however, to undergo an additional blood draw if samples cannot be drawn at that time. This will be done during a scheduled appointment and will not require an additional visit.
• If surgery is part of your treatment, tissue that otherwise would be discarded will be frozen and placed in a specimen bank. You are not being asked to undergo a separate procedure for this tissue collection.

What do I have to do?

You can decide to what extent you would like to participate in the study. You will be asked for:

• Permission to store tissue and blood samples collected during routine clinical care in a prostate tissue and blood bank for purposes of prostate cancer research.
• Permission to store tissue and blood samples collected during routine clinical care in a renal tissue and blood bank for purposes of renal cancer research.
• Permission for study staff to retrieve relevant clinical information from your medical records in a confidential manner. This will help us to better understand the importance of the results of the research done on these tissues. Your information will be kept in a password-protected database accessible by a limited number of study coordinators.
• Permission to have an additional blood sample drawn if blood cannot be obtained at the same time as routine blood tests.
• Permission for study coordinators to contact you or your family about your current health status.

If you have any questions or concerns, or would prefer not to be approached about participating, please do not hesitate to call Brian Schurko at (617) 632-5047.

Thank you for your time and cooperation. We look forward to meeting you.

How can I learn more about tissue storage?

Watch the video Tissue Banking: Advancing Cancer Care

Read about tissue banking and how it can help cancer research (PDF).

This audiovisual program is also available on DVD and in Spanish. Learn more.