It is critical for both basic and clinical translational cancer research to use high quality DNA, RNA and proteins from specimens with clinical outcome in order to validate novel diagnostic biomarkers and to monitor successful treatments for patients. However, using current standard procedures, the collection of specimens is often limited by the availability of liquid nitrogen in some hospitals and liquid nitrogen can be hazardous to transport. These problems would be eased if the tissue could be stored unfixed at 4°C, conditions that are readily available in hospitals. Thus the effect of storing tissue specimens at 4°C on the quality of DNA, RNA and protein has been examined. Clinical tissue samples were halved and kept either at 4°C for up to 24 h or snap-frozen in liquid nitrogen within 30 min of removal from the patient. The results show that the quality of RNA, DNA and protein isolated from the specimens stored at 4°C up to overnight is equal to that obtained from snap-frozen material. In conclusion, simplifying the collection procedure may allow for greater flexibility of conducting studies in units where liquid nitrogen is not readily available.

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