National Cancer Tissue Biobank (NCTB), a state-of-the-art non-profit community based tissue biobank, is a joint initiative of Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India and Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM), Chennai. The biobank collects tissue samples with consent from patients diagnosed with cancer. Information about the previous medical history and treatment of the donors is also documented along with the tissue samples. Tissue samples collected following surgery are in excess of what is required for diagnosis and would otherwise be discarded.

NCTB is the first facility in India and is aiming to provide researchers with high quality of cancer tissues with patient information to facilitate cancer research which is critical to improve cancer diagnosis and treatment. NCTB is located in the Department of Biotechnology, IITM which has a vibrant academic and technology ecosystem.  All the bio-specimen requests will be assessed for its scientific merit by a committee consists of scientists and clinicians followed by an ethical committee approval, and the nucleic acids from cancer and adjacent normal tissues will be provided to the researchers.