This Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, we recognize how much our community matters in cancer research. Discoveries may happen in labs, but research starts with people. Patients and community members can help move science forward by joining research efforts. Community members can get involved in many ways; donating tissue samples for research is one.
Each time a patient agrees to donate a small tissue sample, they help researchers learn something new about cancer — how it starts, grows, and might be stopped.
At the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, Dr. Jennifer Black’s lab studies how cellular “control switches” can drive cancer in the colon, pancreas, and uterus. These switches control how cells grow and behave; when they don’t work properly, cancer can form or grow faster.
Dr. Black’s team uses donated colorectal cancer tissue samples to grow small, living tumor models called organoids. “Patient-derived organoids are ideal models because they mimic the structure and properties of human tumors and mirror how the patient’s tumor will respond to treatment,” said Dr. Black. “These models allow researchers to safely test new medicines and see how cancer might respond without any risk to patients.”
Colorectal cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in Nebraska, and a top research priority at the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center.
Behind research like Dr. Black’s is essential infrastructure: the Institutional Biospecimen Bank (IBB) at UNMC, directed by Dr. Kurt Fisher, collects and preserves donated samples for use across research studies.
“Consenting patients make lasting contributions to cancer research by sharing their critical samples,” said Dr. Fisher. “Specimens from thousands of patients have helped develop early cancer detection tests that save lives.”
When patients and healthy donors take part in research, their impact goes beyond their own lives. Their contributions can help shape treatments that benefit people for generations to come.
To learn how you can get involved in research, contact the Community Outreach and Engagement Office at the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center at coe@unmc.edu.