Bar graph showing relative racial prevalence of breast cancer among White and African American females in the U.S., broken down by Localized/ Regional/ Distant stage variables. Researchers seeking specimens of breast cancer tissue should keep in mind that prevalence of various cancer types will determine how available samples are for use in histopathological study. It is also important to understand the standard of care for treatment as individual patients progress through the stages of cancer. Researchers who design their studies with consideration of the types of tissues most likely to be available will reduce the overall cost of procurement for specimens. Non-standard specimens may be available but will be more rare. Additionally, custom procurement may be conducted on a prospective basis, but the timelines to complete such projects will be necessarily uncertain.