Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund Tissue Bank (PCRFTB)

The Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund Tissue Bank (PCRFTB) is a collaboration between Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, and key NHS partners across the UK. We are the world’s first national pancreas tissue bank, supporting research to improve outcomes for patients.

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The Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund Tissue Bank (PCRFTB) is the world’s first national pancreas tissue bank, supporting research to improve outcomes for patients.

The Tissue Bank is a collaboration between Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, and key NHS partners across the UK:

  • Barts Health NHS Trust (London)
  • Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust
  • University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
  • Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
  • University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust
  • ABM University Health Board, Swansea
  • The London Clinic
  • Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
  • University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust

We continue to expand this collaboration and welcome additional partners.

The Tissue Bank collects and stores tissue, blood, saliva and urine samples, alongside detailed clinical data to support research. Researchers can apply to access samples with associated clinical and pathological data. As the resource grows, access will expand nationally and internationally. A dedicated research and development programme ensures the Tissue Bank remains at the forefront of biobanking and data integration. All research data generated is returned to a central bioinformatics platform and made available to the global research community.

If you are a patient and would like to learn more about donating, please visit our main website

Contact details

For general enquiries:

Chief Investigator: Professor Hemant Kocher
Tissue Bank Coordinator: Rhiannon Roberts

Visit the main website for further information on management and the tissue bank team

Location

We are located on the ground floor of the John Vane Science Centre.

Address

Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund Tissue Bank
Centre for Tumour Biology, Barts Cancer Institute
Ground Floor, John Vane Science Centre
Charterhouse Square, London
EC1M 6BQ

Opening hours

  • Core hours: 9:00-17:00 Monday – Friday

Services and support

UK and international researchers are welcome to apply to access samples and /or pseudo-anonymised data from the Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund Tissue Bank (PCRFTB).

The sample types stored by PCRFTB include:

  • Plasma
  • Serum
  • Buffy coats
  • Urine
  • FFPE tissue
  • Fresh frozen tissue
  • Organoids
  • Cancer Associated Fibroblasts (CAFs)

Please submit an expression of interest via this link and our team will be in touch.

Alternatively, for any enquiries, please email the PCRFTB Coordinator at bci-pancreas-tissue-bank@qmul.ac.uk

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The PCRFTB team at Barts Cancer Institute after being awarded ISO 20387:2018 accreditation in 2025.

Acknowledgements

If you use PCRFTB samples or data in your work, please acknowledge the Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund Tissue Bank (PCRFTB) in any publications.

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Prices

For Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund Tissue Bank cost recovery, please contact the PCRFTB Coordinator at bci-pancreas-tissue-bank@qmul.ac.uk

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Accreditation

PCRFTB is accredited to ISO 20387:2018, the international standard for biobanking, demonstrating excellence in the quality and governance of biological samples and data management. Supporting information systems also fall under Queen Mary University of London’s ISO/IEC 27001:2022-certified Information Security Management System (ISMS), ensuring internationally recognised standards for information security and data protection.

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