Biobanking in health care: evolution and future directions

Abstract

Background: The aim of the present review is to discuss how the promising field of biobanking can support health care research strategies. As the concept has evolved over time, biobanks have grown from simple biological sample repositories to complex and dynamic units belonging to large infrastructure networks, such as the Pan-European Biobanking and Biomolecular Resources Research Infrastructure (BBMRI). Biobanks were established to support scientific knowledge. Different professional figures with varied expertise collaborate to obtain and collect biological and clinical data from human subjects. At same time biobanks preserve the human and legal rights of each person that offers biomaterial for research.

Methods: A literature review was conducted in April 2019 from the online database PubMed, accessed through the Bibliosan platform. Four primary topics related to biobanking will be discussed: (i) evolution, (ii) bioethical issues, (iii) organization, and (iv) imaging.

Results: Most biobanks were founded as local units to support specific research projects, so they evolved in a decentralized manner. The consequence is an urgent needing for procedure harmonization regarding sample collection, processing, and storage. Considering the involvement of biomaterials obtained from human beings, different ethical issues such as the informed consent model, sample ownership, veto rights, and biobank sustainability are debated. In the face of these methodological and ethical challenges, international organizations such as BBMRI play a key role in supporting biobanking activities. Finally, a unique development is the creation of imaging biobanks that support the translation of imaging biomarkers (identified using a radiomic approach) into clinical practice by ensuring standardization of data acquisition and analysis, accredited technical validation, and transparent sharing of biological and clinical data.

Conclusion: Modern biobanks permit large-scale analysis for individuation of specific diseases biomarkers starting from biological or digital material (i.e., bioimages) with well-annotated clinical and biological data. These features are essential for improving personalized medical approaches, where effective biomarker identification is a critical step for disease diagnosis and prognosis.

Keywords: Biobank; Biobanking; Bioethics; Human samples; Imaging biobank; Personalized medicine; Radiogenomics; Radiomics.

Fig. 1

Graphical representation of the number of publications related to biobanking obtained from PubMed. a Shows the number of publications over time. b Shows the number of publications classified for: Cancer, Consent, Ethics, Biomarkers, Genomics, Public health, Personalized medicine and Pharmacogenomics (April 8, 2019)

Fig. 2

Hypothetical workflow model for collection, storage and distribution of samples in biobanking. a displays an example of automation of biological sample aliquoting. b shows a storage unit where biosamples can be stored in mechanical freezers or liquid nitrogen storage device. c displays the phases needed for samples sharing. A management software is needed for samples retrieval and an approved material transfer agreement (MTA) in case of both internal and external users before samples transferring

Fig. 3

A schematic description of radiogenomic approach. The integration of molecular and imaging data is needed for a radiogenomic approach to the patient in a personalized medicine setting