Cancer patients' attitudes toward future research uses of stored human biological materials

THE POLICY DEBATE CONCERNING INFORMED consent for future, unspecified research of stored human biological materials (HBM) would benefit from an understanding of the attitudes of individuals who contribute tissue specimens to HBM repositories. Cancer patients who contributed leftover tissue to the Indiana University Cancer Center Tissue Bank under such conditions were recruited for a mail survey study of their attitudes. Our findings suggest that a clear majority of subjects would permit unlimited future research on stored HBMs without re-contact and re-consent, and a significant minority appear to desire ongoing control over future research uses of their tissue. These differences merit further investigation and suggest that a policy of blanket consent for all future, unspecified research would be premature.