RESUMO
Background: Despite having the technical facilities and the knowledge, Chile did not have a tumor bank until recently. Aimn: To describe the results of the first three years of a tumor bank. Material and methods: All cases stored in a tumor bank from June 2004 tojune 2007 were included. Samples were frozen in isopentane, afterwards in liquid nitrogen and finally transferred to freezers at -80°C. Quality controls with DNA and RNA extraction and immunohistochemistry, were per formed. Results: In the study period, 1239 cases were collected and 79 percent were malignant tumors. In 78 percent of cases, samples from the tumor and of normal neighaboring tissue, were stored. Twenty six percent of samples were from breast cáncer and 22 percent for digestive tumors. Immunohistochemical expression ofvimentin was measured in 30 cases and the expression of Ki67 an p53 in 20 cases. Thirteen of 15 breast cáncer samples had expression of estrogen receptors. In 30 cases, DNA and RNA extraction was carried out, amplifying B-globin and B-actin. Moreover RNA was extracted from 63 gastríc cáncer, 30 colon cáncer and gallbladder cáncer samples, for specific projects. Conclusions: The creation of a tumor bank is feasible, preserving samples of high biológical quality.