A new collaboration will preserve blood and tumour tissue to strengthen cancer research
Cancer patients in Abu Dhabi are being invited to contribute blood and tumour tissue samples to a new research programme. The initiative aims to improve understanding of the disease and support more personalised approaches to treatment.
The collaboration between Abu Dhabi Biobank and Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi will collect and preserve samples obtained during routine medical visits. Participation is voluntary and requires informed patient consent.
Patients attending the hospital’s Fatima bint Mubarak Center can contribute to the programme, with samples transferred to the Biobank for processing and storage under ethical and governance frameworks. The collaboration covers all cancer types, including breast and pancreatic cancer.
“This partnership enables us to make use of samples collected throughout the cancer care journey,” says Dr Stephen R. Grobmyer, Surgical Oncologist and Institute Chief of the Cancer Institute at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. “By connecting clinical care with scientific research, we aim to deepen our understanding of how cancer develops, progresses and responds to treatment, supporting more personalised care and improved treatment outcomes for patients. The project will also help provide research samples from people in the region, strengthening their representation in cancer research on a broader scale.”
The programme includes the development of patient-derived organoids, laboratory models created from tumour tissue. Researchers use these models to study responses to different treatments before their application in patients.
All volunteers participating in the pilot will have their tumour tissue undergo somatic sequencing, which examines genetic changes within the tumour. The intention is to bring tumour sequencing together with information about inherited genetic variation and laboratory research models in a central resource.
Together, the material will support investigation into how tumours evolve and why they develop resistance to treatment. Earlier detection and more effective interventions are among the programme’s longer-term aims, rather than outcomes established by the announcement.
“This collaboration demonstrates how a national biobank and a world-class hospital can work together to create lasting public value,” says Mr Paul Downey, General Manager of Abu Dhabi Biobank. “Oncology innovation is the engine behind predictive and personalised medicine and is vital to enabling sustainable, high-impact therapeutic interventions.”
Abu Dhabi Biobank is a joint initiative of the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi and M42. Its facilities in Masdar City have capacity for 5m human biological samples linked to health data, providing infrastructure for long-term research.
The hospital contributes its clinical expertise and relationships with patients through the Fatima bint Mubarak Center, which the Department of Health recently designated an Oncology Centre of Excellence for Breast Cancer.
The partners intend the collaboration to connect clinical care more closely with scientific investigation, building a resource through which patients’ voluntary contributions can support future cancer research in the UAE and beyond.
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