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Testing an Active Form of Tamoxifen (4-hydroxytamoxifen) Delivered Through the Breast Skin to Control Ductal Carcinoma in Situ (DCIS) of the Breast

Over the course of this study 814 biospecimens were collected.

Blood samples were collected twice during the study, once at baseline and once at the second study visit around 4 weeks after. Blood was collected into either blue top tubes or lavender top tubes. For the blue top tubes, 2 x 2.7 mL draw tubes, Sodium Citrate vacutainer®, were filled completely. After gently mixing, the tubes were centrifuged for 15 minutes at 1500g at 22°C. After centrifugation, the separated plasma was aliquoted to 2 mL cryogenic vials, 1 mL in each. If there was not 2 mL of plasma to fill the second vial, it should be filled with the remaining plasma available and noted. Plasma samples were then frozen at - 80°C in a non-frost free freezer. The lavender top tube, K2-EDTA vacutainer®, were filled, gently mixed, then placed at 4°C or on wet ice until they were centrifuged for 10 minutes at 1300g and 4°C. The plasma was then aliquoted similarly to the blue top tubes. After consent for biobank is verified, the buffy coat layer was collected and transferred to a separate 2 mL vial and then frozen at - 80°C in a non-frost free freezer.

Tissue samples were taken twice during the study, once at baseline and once at the second study visit around 4 weeks later. The tissue samples were taken from a biopsy at the baseline visit and then from the mastectomy specimen at the week 4 visit. After the samples were taken and weighed they were split in the following manner:

  • A slice of tissue about 3 mm thick was taken from one face, weighed, placed into a cassette labelled with pencil and placed in formalin (was done as soon as possible to preserve antigenicity) for a minimum of 6 hours. After formalin fixation, it was processed within 72 hours and embedded in paraffin.
  • The remaining tissue pieces were weighed together, placed into the same cryovial and flash-frozen in liquid nitrogen.
  • For the lymph node tissue, if the specimen was less than 100mg, it was not split and was snap-frozen in liquid nitrogen. If the sample was greater than 100 mg, it was split into sections and processed in the same way samples were processed as outlined above.

All research tissue frozen samples and FFPE blocks from the mastectomy procedure were be stored at -80°C and room temperature, respectively.

Number of Biospecimen Vials/Slides Collected Per Person
Material Baseline Week-4
Plasma (1.8 mL) 4 4
Buffy Coat (1.8 mL) 2 2
Urine* 1 1
Tissue* 1 6-8

*No Specimen Available