Proposal of a punch biopsy protocol as a pre-requisite for the establishment of a tissue bank from resected esophageal tumors.

With the development of tissue banking, a need for homogeneous methods of collection, processing, and storage of tissue has emerged. We describe the implementation of a biological bank in a high-volume, tertiary care University referral center for esophageal cancer surgery. We also propose an original punch biopsy technique of the surgical specimen. The method proved to be simple, reproducible, and not expensive. Unified standards for specimen collection are necessary to improve results of specimen-based diagnostic testing and research in surgical oncology.