Frequently Asked Questions

The SEER-Linked VTR Program uses the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) public health cancer surveillance registries as honest brokers to supply researchers and other investigators with access to de-identified, linked data and archival, formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue obtained through clinical care.

Unlike a physical biorepository, which collects and stores tissue for future use in cancer research, a VTR uses honest brokers to fulfill requests for de-identified, linked tissue, whole slide images, pathology reports, and/or clinical data for secondary use in research and other projects.

The SEER-Linked VTR Program accepts requests for formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue obtained through clinical care for secondary use in research and other projects. While tissue blocks are not released to investigators, tissue, processed as de-identified unstained or stained slides, ribbons, or scrolls, is released to investigators. Other types of data resources that can be requested include de-identified pathology reports, clinical and demographic data, and/or whole slide images (WSIs).

Refer to the information on the Request Inquiry and Submissions page. The initial step is to complete and submit the online Study Information Form (F1). The VTR Review Panel will review F1, and NCI will notify the investigator if the panel has any questions. Once a study has been approved, the investigator will be notified via an email from nciseervtrrequest@mail.nih.gov about which registry has been assigned as the Primary Contact Registry and next steps.

Yes, all SEER-Linked VTR Program data, biospecimens, pathology reports, and WSIs provided to investigators will be de-identified, but linked.

Once requests have been approved, the investigator has met with the Primary Contact Registry, and the investigator has completed and submitted the Study Request Form (F2), the investigator will be notified via a Letter of Services Available. When funding has been secured after that point, the investigator will be asked to supply documentation from their Institutional Review Board (IRB) indicating IRB approval of the project or exemption from IRB review. To receive SEER data, investigators also will be asked to undergo an authentication and authorization process for SEER Research Plus and sign a set of agreements of data limitations and use.

If tissue is being requested, they also will be asked to sign a Material Transfer Agreement Agreement between the laboratory processing tissue and the investigator's receiving laboratory. If the investigator's project is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the investigator must generate and submit a Data Sharing Plan to comply with the NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy. If sequencing will be conducted on nucleic acids extracted from the tissue specimens, the investigator will be required to complete and have their institution sign an Institutional Certification in addition to complying with the NIH Data Management Sharing Policy.

The timeline for receiving biospecimens depends on a number of factors related to the nature of the request, including whether the requested tissue needs to be representative of the U.S. population; the number of cases with tissue being requested; and/or the request is for rare cancer(s), cancer cases with rare outcomes, and/or of underrepresented populations. If specimens are being requested on >250 cancer cases, then the project will need to be conducted over multiple years.

Investigators will be provided a cost estimate based on what services the request entails, target sample size, number of laboratories being contacted, etc. Please see the Cost Structure, Fees, and Payments page for further information.

Like the SEER-Linked VTR Program, CHTN is a network of honest brokers, supported by NCI, that processes de-identified, but linked, tissue and data for researchers and other investigators. Unlike CHTN, the honest brokers at the SEER-Linked VTR Program are SEER cancer registries that use the public health infrastructure to request formalin-fixed (FFPE) tissue obtained through clinical care (e.g., biopsies and surgeries). The SEER-Linked VTR Program does not collect tissue in real time and does not offer access to fresh-frozen tissue. Because the SEER-Linked VTR Program uses the cancer registries for access to data and tissue, it allows investigators to obtain de-identified tissue and data from cases that are representative of the underlying population. As such, the program allows investigators to conduct studies of cancer cases from underrepresented, racial and ethnic subpopulations and other unique groups of cancer cases.