Stability of Cancer Biomarkers Under Ultra-Low Temperature Storage

The use of tumor markers to diagnose, assess prognosis, and select a suitable cancer treatment has become possible due to the development of inexpensive and user-friendly molecular analysis tools such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Maintaining the integrity of biomarkers during processing and storage is therefore of paramount importance for accurate diagnosis and prognosis of many diseases, including cancers.

To safely store samples for research or clinical uses, freezing procedures are used to arrest the degradation of biomarkers. However, the stability of these molecules depends upon long-term storage conditions.

This paper aims to demonstrate the necessity of ultra-low temperature storage in maintaining the stability of important cancer biomarkers in fluid, cell, and tissue biospecimens.