A bold opening statement: a national biorepository is being built to unlock the mysteries of melanoma, including its rare subtypes that challenge researchers and clinicians alike. And this is where the story gets particularly important for patients and scientists alike.
A nonprofit research organization, the Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA), has launched a nationwide biorepository anchored at the University of Colorado to collect melanoma samples. The goal is to assemble a diverse collection of tumor tissue, blood, and other biospecimens—emphasizing rarer subtypes—to fuel diagnostic improvements, molecular studies, and preclinical research.
The program, announced in November, invites contributions from patients across the United States and makes materials available to scientists pursuing diagnostic, molecular, and translational work. While open to all melanoma types, the initiative places special focus on rarer forms that occur in sun-shielded areas such as the soles of the feet, nasal cavities, and under the nails. These subtypes affect roughly 5,000 people per year.
Joan Levy, Ph.D., MRA’s chief science officer, underscored the value of high-quality biospecimens, saying, “Major breakthroughs in cancer research start with access to quality biospecimens. Through this effort, patients can directly contribute to research that will fuel the future of improved melanoma treatments.”
The biorepository operates from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. Donor options include stored tumor tissue from past surgeries or new samples collected during upcoming procedures. The program also accepts blood, saliva, and other bodily fluids.
Per MRA, collected samples can be preserved for later studies or processed into DNA, RNA, or protein to support genomic and molecular analyses. The biorepository will develop cell lines, tissue microarrays, and patient-derived xenograft models from these donations. Access to these resources will be granted to researchers through an application process managed by the university.
Biobank programs have become standard instruments in oncology research, enabling real-world sample collection. Notable examples include the National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Moonshot Biobank, which gathers tumor and blood specimens alongside imaging and clinical data to track cancer responses to therapies. Another landmark, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), has compiled more than 20,000 tumor and normal samples across 33 cancer types since 2006, informing the design of several immunotherapies currently in use.
MRA emphasizes that housing the program at the University of Colorado will facilitate the integration of donated materials with ongoing research at the Center for Rare Melanomas, which concentrates on acral and mucosal melanoma. The alliance anticipates that the new biospecimen pipeline will support projects aimed at identifying prognostic markers, better characterizing these tumors, and exploring potential therapeutic targets.
Participation is encouraged from patients nationwide, regardless of where they receive care. Clinicians can refer patients through an online enrollment portal, and researchers can request tissue, data, or derived models via the same site. Broad involvement from community practices and academic centers is seen as essential to building a more diverse and comprehensive collection.
Kasey Couts, Ph.D., assistant professor and co-director of the CU Center for Rare Melanomas, remarked that access to biobanked samples for rare melanoma subtypes is traditionally limited. He noted that a centralized, researcher-friendly biorepository like this one removes a major barrier and enables collaborative science capable of delivering real patient breakthroughs.
If you’d like to discuss this initiative or share your perspective on how centralized biobanking could affect melanoma research and patient care, the comments are open for discussion.
