Cancer Center Amsterdam is committed to learning from our patients. Materials provided by patients forms the foundation of our cancer research and we are grateful for their contribution. In recent years, advances in technology have revealed a wealth of information contained in biofluids – a sample of blood or urine – including detailed information about cancer.

Biofluids collected from patients to extract information about their cancer are called liquid biopsies. The Liquid Biopsy Center at the Cancer Center of Amsterdam UMC coordinates and provides access to a centralized collection of biofluids from patients for cancer research. The high-quality, uniformly processed, and well annotated collection makes the Liquid Biopsy Center of Amsterdam UMC a prime resource facility for cancer researchers.

Blood is filled with valuable information, it can tell us such things as whether we have a tumor, how it is developing, where it is located, what it is made of, and how it will respond to certain treatments." - Dr. Michiel Pegtel, Head of the Cancer Center Amsterdam Liquid Biopsy Center.

The importance of central coordination

Opened in October 2017 with funding from the Cancer Center Amsterdam Foundation, our Liquid Biopsy Center coordinates the centralized collection and logistics for oncology samples stored at Amsterdam UMC Biobank. Over 2,500 patients from many clinical departments at Cancer Center Amsterdam have already contributed to Liquid Biopsy Center, with approximately 5,000 samples in the bank together with pseudonymized clinical data. Importantly, the centralized logistics and harmonized processing protocols make all samples comparable in quality and thus suitable for cancer research investigations like biomarker discovery.

Our Liquid Biopsy Center aims to accelerate the development of novel non-invasive liquid biopsy techniques for the detection and monitoring of cancer.” Dr. Wendy Onstenk, Project Leader, Cancer Center Amsterdam Liquid Biopsy Center.

Liquid Biopsy Center: Benefits for researchers

  • Access to liquid biopsy samples to empower your cancer research projects
  • Central biobanking knowledge hub for standardized sample collection: solutions, logistics and expertise all in one place
  • Centralized and standardized liquid biopsy storage and annotation offers transparency and insight into valuable sample resources  
  • Complete documentation of samples including pseudonymized patient information like tumor type, stage of disease, treatment, etc. 

Participate to shape the future of cancer diagnostics and guided treatment

As the collection continues to grow, so do the opportunities to gain more insights from the analysis of growing datasets. The crucial inclusion of clinical data (like diagnosis, prescribed treatment and patient characteristics) allows researchers to correlate molecular data with clinical features. Importantly, the sequential (longitudinal) collection of samples from patients (i.e., before, during, and after treatment) enables researchers to follow tumor changes over times. We invite researchers at Cancer Center Amsterdam to join and utilize our biobanking efforts in order to empower their research and shape the future of cancer diagnostics and guided treatment.

Expertise and new collaborations

The Liquid Biopsy Center also has expertise in the fields of exosomes, circulating miRNAs, cell-free tumor DNA, and tumor-educated platelets, and can give advice in the design of biomarker studies. The Liquid Biopsy Center team strives to maximally support liquid-biopsy researchers in the initiation of new collections, as well as the continuation and expansion of existing collections.

Pursuing powerful new opportunities

All cancer researchers interested in liquid biopsy research can submit a request application to Liquid Biopsy Center, including a short description of the proposed research, project methodology and a justification for requested samples and volumes. Liquid Biopsy Center material is available for cancer research only and costs are calculated according to set up and logistics.

For information on the availability of samples and issuance procedures contact Dr. Michiel Pegtel (Head of the Liquid Biopsy Center) or Dr. Wendy Onstenk (Liquid Biopsy Center project leader) via contact Liquiid Bippy Center Amsterdam UMC