Matched Tissue and Blood Samples for Translational Research

These are biospecimens collected from the same participant, enabling researchers to correlate tissue-based and blood-based biomarkers for more accurate insights.

Our inventory is routinely updated to offer a range of matched cancer indications that are ready-to-ship including:

• Bladder
• Bone & Soft Tissue
• Brain
• Breast
• Colorectal
• Esophageal
• Gastric
• Head & Neck
• Hodgkin Lymphoma
• Liver
• Lung
• Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
• Ovarian
• Pancreatic
• Prostate
• Skin
• Uterine

Custom collections also are available to source other disease types needed for your project.

Many samples are ready-to-ship from our inventory. Custom collections also are available through our global clinical network to get you exactly what you need.

Yes, all samples are IRB-approved and collected with informed consent.

1. Cross-Validation of Biomarkers

• Validating circulating biomarkers (i.e., ctDNA, proteins, metabolites) against the actual tumor biology ensures that blood-based markers truly reflect disease status.

2. Translational Relevance

• Matched samples help determine whether a candidate biomarker is clinically actionable and detectable in a real-world, non-invasive setting (blood), while still being biologically validated in tissue.

3. Supporting Multi-Omics Integration

• Matched samples allow integration of genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic data from tissue and blood. This helps identify robust biomarker signatures and understand systemic vs. tumor-localized changes.

1. Biomarker Identification and Assay Development¹

• Tissue samples provide the primary source of tumor-specific biomarkers (i.e., HER2, EGFR, ALK), which are essential for developing assays that predict response to targeted therapies. Blood samples (liquid biopsy) allow researchers to determine if these biomarkers can also be detected in a minimally invasive format, supporting the development of blood-based CDx for patients who cannot undergo tissue biopsy.

2. Clinical Validation and Concordance Testing²

• Regulatory agencies (like the FDA) require the CDx assay to demonstrate clinical validity (i.e., the biomarker detected by the test correlates with treatment response)
• Matched tissue and blood samples enable concordance studies, comparing biomarker detection in tissue (gold standard) versus blood, ensuring accuracy and reliability before approval.

3. Co-Development with Therapeutics²

• CDx and drug development are ideally synchronized. Matched samples collected during clinical trials allow developers to:
  • Stratify patients based on biomarker status
  • Monitor treatment response using both tissue and blood markers
  • Transition from research-use-only assays to validated in vitro diagnostics for regulatory submission

1. Genomic Analysis

• Tissue DNA provides the reference for tumor-specific mutations, copy number variations, and structural alterations.
• Blood DNA (cfDNA/ctDNA) allows detection of these alterations in a minimally invasive way, enabling:
  • Validation of whether tumor mutations are detectable in circulation.
  • Monitoring of tumor evolution and treatment response over time.

2. Transcriptomic Analysis

• Tissue RNA reveals gene expression profiles within the tumor microenvironment.
• Blood RNA (i.e., from plasma) helps identify circulating transcripts and non-coding RNAs that reflect systemic changes.
• Matching both sources allows correlation of tumor-localized expression with circulating RNA signatures, improving biomarker discovery.

3. Proteomic Analysis

• Tissue proteomics captures protein abundance and post-translational modifications in the tumor.
• Blood proteomics identifies secreted proteins, cytokines, and signaling molecules that can serve as non-invasive biomarkers.
• Matched samples enable cross-validation of candidate proteins and help distinguish tumor-derived signals from background noise.

4. Multi-Omics Integration

• Combining genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic data from matched tissue and blood:
  • Improves biological interpretation of pathways and networks.
  • Identifies robust biomarker panels for diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy response.
  • Supports systems biology models linking tumor biology to systemic effects

1. Improving Accuracy of Mutation Detection¹

• Tumor-normal matched sequencing compares tumor DNA (from tissue) with normal DNA (from blood, typically white blood cells). This helps filter out germline variants and clonal hematopoiesis (CHIP) mutations, which can otherwise be misclassified as tumor-specific mutations in liquid biopsy results. This dramatically reduces false positives and ensures only true somatic mutations are reported.

2. Enhancing Clinical Actionability¹

• Studies show that matched sequencing improves the detection of clinically actionable variants. For example, in one study, tumor-matched sequencing identified actionable alterations in 73% of cases and filtered out over 10,000 non-tumor variants that could have led to incorrect treatment decisions.

3. Comprehensive Genomic Profiling²

• Combining tissue and liquid biopsy analysis increases the yield of actionable variants and can uncover hereditary cancer predispositions. Some germline mutations (i.e., BRCA1, ATM) would be missed without this integrated approach. It also allows for longitudinal monitoring of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) during treatment, which is essential for detecting resistance mutations and early relapse.

4. Assay Development and Validation³

• For developing and validating liquid biopsy assays, matched tissue and blood samples collected close in time are critical. They help assess the sensitivity and specificity of the assay by providing a ground truth reference from the tumor tissue against which liquid biopsy results can be compared.