# TCGA barcode

Source: https://onco.cc/terms/tcga-barcode/  
OnCo record `tcga-barcode` (Term). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

A TCGA barcode such as TCGA-A1-A0SB-01A-11R-A144-07 encodes the project, tissue source site, patient, sample type, vial, portion, analyte, plate and centre, and is the key that joins one patient's data files.

## Summary

The GDC encyclopedia describes the TCGA barcode as the identifier built from a series of metadata values: project, tissue source site, participant, sample (01 primary tumour, 11 normal), vial, portion, analyte (D for DNA, R for RNA), plate and sequencing centre. The first twelve characters identify the patient and are the join key between expression, mutation, methylation and clinical tables; a tumour and its matched normal share them. The GDC now assigns UUIDs as well, and mixing the two is a common join error.

## Fields

- Kind: Term
- Last checked: 2026-09-24
- Also known as: TCGA barcode; TCGA barcodes; TCGA sample barcode; TCGA patient barcode; TCGA-XX-XXXX
- Tags: cansim-terms

## Notes

- Listed in the CanSim terms map 1.0.0 (docs/onco/terms.json, generated 2026-09-24), CC BY 4.0, attribution: CanSim project, an open, public-data-first cancer foundation-model programme; CanSim page path /terms/tcga-barcode.

## Sources

- GDC documentation: TCGA barcode: https://docs.gdc.cancer.gov/Encyclopedia/pages/TCGA_Barcode/

## Connected records

- collections: [TCGA / NCI Genomic Data Commons](https://onco.cc/collections/tcga-gdc/)
- terms: [Analytical databases as a data catalogue (DuckDB, PostgreSQL)](https://onco.cc/terms/duckdb-catalog/), [Cancer AI vocabulary (CanSim terms map)](https://onco.cc/terms/cancer-ai-vocabulary/), [Provenance fields for research data](https://onco.cc/terms/provenance-fields/), [TCGA open versus controlled data tiers](https://onco.cc/terms/tcga-tiers/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/tcga-barcode.json