Unique Repository Holds Living Brain Metastasis Samples for Research

A novel initiative in Spain called RENACER (National Brain Metastasis Network) is collecting living samples of brain metastasis from patients at 18 hospitals in the country. This repository, hosted at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), aims to accelerate the development of therapies for brain metastasis, a condition affecting up to 30% of patients with systemic cancer. Brain metastasis, which occurs when cancer spreads to the brain from another part of the body, is especially challenging to treat due to the blood-brain barrier.

The unique aspect of RENACER, described in a recent Trends in Cancer paper, is that it contains living samples that are conserved in cultures, enabling these cells to mimic their behavior in the body. This characteristic opens up new possibilities for research and clinical trial design, especially for brain metastasis cases. Researchers can use these living samples to study responses to specific drugs and create personalized treatment plans for each patient. Two clinical trials are already underway thanks to this network, which aims to deliver research findings to patients as swiftly as possible. This project highlights the collaboration of patients, researchers, and healthcare professionals in advancing cancer research.

Patient samples are transported from the operating theatre to the biobank within 24 hours to ensure the cells remain alive, and they undergo thorough analysis and sequencing. The resulting data are openly available to the international scientific community.