Australia’s first national resource dedicated to lung cancer research, making high-quality biospecimens and linked clinical data available to support studies across the lung cancer continuum.
Co-designed with people with lived experience of lung cancer, TRACKER Biobank collects biospecimens and clinical information longitudinally, enabling the study of how lung cancer evolves over time.
These biospecimens are obtained through routine clinical care, with the biobank designed to evolve alongside emerging research priorities, sample types and technologies.
Importantly, this unique resource facilitates the discovery of novel biomarkers, therapeutic targets and more precise approaches to lung cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment, supporting a broad range of research applications in Australia and internationally.
TRACKER Biobank brings together clinicians, researchers, people with lived experience and partner organisations across Australia, supported by the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) and other funding partners.
Services
Contact
If you would like to discuss opportunities to use our services, please contact:
Dr Tracy Leong & A/Prof Sagun Parakh
Platform Leads
+61 3 9496 9711
tracker@onjcri.org.au
Biospecimens
Longitudinal biospecimen collections currently include:
- Primary and/or metastatic tumour, lymph node and nodule tissue (malignant and non-malignant)
- Whole blood, plasma, serum and PBMCs
- Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF)
- Saliva
- Cerebrospinal Fluid
Clinical data
Biospecimens are linked to clinical data captured throughout the participant journey, including:
- Participant demographics and characteristics
- Lung cancer diagnosis, histology and staging
- Molecular and genetic characteristics
- Comorbidities
- Treatment history and response
- Treatment-related toxicities and adverse events
- Disease progression, recurrence and metastatic disease
- Clinical trial participation
- Longitudinal follow-up and survival outcomes
Research Opportunities
TRACKER’s biospecimens and data can support research across areas including:
- Early detection and screening
- Biomarker discovery
- Treatment response and resistance, including targeted therapies and immunotherapy
- Liquid biopsy research
- Genomics and multi-omics
- Microbiome research
- Therapeutic target discovery
- Precision medicine