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Biobank

AOCS

Australian Ovarian Cancer Study

Tumor, blood and clinical data: 1,834 ovarian cancer cases, 1,066 controls.

Listed Apr 24, 2026

  • Biospecimen
  • Clinical
  • Epidemiological
  • Ovarian

Overview

Overview

AOCS commenced in 2000 as a collaborative study between researchers at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, the Queensland Institute for Medical Research, the Westmead Institute for Cancer Research, and the University of Melbourne. Patient recruitment ceased in June 2006. It has since grown into one of the most comprehensive ovarian cancer resources in the world

Patient Cohort & Clinical Data

AOCS recruited a total of 1,834 women with invasive or borderline ovarian cancer, far exceeding the initial target, along with 1,066 control women without ovarian cancer. The study collected 1,080 fresh tumor tissue samples, 1,582 blood samples, and 1,815 completed questionnaires. Clinical details were recorded for all patients at 6-monthly intervals, with primary treatment data available for 99% of cases and 5-year follow-up data for 89% of eligible cases.

Clinical data were collected through a national research nurse network at pre-specified intervals: at diagnosis, completion of primary treatment, and then at 6-monthly intervals. The study also collected 337 ascitic fluid samples from 214 patients who presented with recurrent disease.

Biospecimens & Omics Data

Materials available include DNA (tumor and germline), RNA, plasma, serum, fresh frozen tissue, formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) blocks, and Tissue Microarrays (TMA), alongside extensive clinical and epidemiological data.

Key molecular datasets generated include.

Data Access

AOCS is a national and international resource that researchers with approved projects can utilize. Access to data and biospecimens is by application. Controlled-access genomic data is available through the EGA, while processed expression and methylation data are available through GEO. The study has supported approximately 70 or more national and international projects and collaborations.

Notes

Peter MacCallum, QIMR, Westmead, U Melbourne. 145+ approved projects. Recruitment 2000-2006. 6.5% lost to follow-up.

Inside the dataset

  • Gene expression (microarray)

    The landmark Tothill et al. 2008 paper used AOCS microarray data to define four molecular subtypes of high-grade serous and endometrioid ovarian cancer (C1–C6 clusters), deposited in GEO as GSE9891. These four subtypes — mesenchymal, immunoreactive, differentiated, and proliferative — were first independently identified by AOCS, and later confirmed by TCGA.

  • Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) + RNA-seq (ICGC)

    The AOCS contributed a complete WGS and RNA-seq dataset for 93 donors to the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC), sequenced on Illumina HiSeq, with alignment using BWA (WGS) and RSEM (transcriptome). This dataset is available through the European Genome-Phenome Archive (EGA).

  • DNA methylation

    AOCS tumor samples have been profiled for DNA methylation and used alongside expression data in integrative analyses. In some multi-cohort studies, AOCS contributed methylation and gene expression data from approximately 78 HGSOC cases.

  • Whole-exome sequencing (WES)

    A WES dataset from 10 AOCS ovarian clear cell carcinoma clinical outliers is deposited in EGA, including matched tumor/normal pairs from patients with unusually long or short survival following platinum-based chemotherapy. EGA European Genome-Phenome Archive

  • Long-term survivor genomics (MOCOG)

    A subsequent study deposited somatic variant data, expression data, and methylation data from the ICGC and MOCOG (long-term survivor) cohorts in Synapse and GEO, with raw methylation data available without access restrictions.

Publications