According to a story from Axios, the relatives of Henrietta Lacks are filing a second lawsuit against a biopharmaceutical company, alleging that the company is unfairly profiting through the use of her tissue, which was harvested without her consent in the 1950s. Her cells have been used to establish the first-ever immortalized human cell line in history. These cells can indefinitely replicate themselves under the right conditions, allowing them to play a huge role in medical research up to the present day. At the time that the cells were taken, Henrietta was a rare disease patient seeking treatment for cervical cancer, which would ultimately take her life.
About Cervical Cancer
Cervical cancer is a cancer that affects the cervix, which is the lower part of the uterus. It often does not cause symptoms at first. In the majority of cases, infection with human papillomavirus (HPV) is the cause. Other risk factors include smoking, using oral contraceptives for a long time, and having a large number of children. The majority of cervical cancers are squamous cell carcinoma. Symptoms include vaginal bleeding, bleeding after sex, pain during sex, vaginal discharge, swollen legs, pain affecting the pelvis, legs, or back, fatigue, weight loss, and appetite loss. Treatment for cervical cancer can include hysterectomy, trachelectomy, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy, sometimes in combination. Outcomes for this cancer have improved in developed nations, mostly due to earlier detection via screening. The five-year survival rate in the US is around 68 percent. To learn more about cervical cancer, click here.
A History of Exploitation
The family filed the lawsuit against Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical in a federal court in Baltimore. The legal action took place a little after a week after which Henrietta’s estate settled with another biotech company that was accused of unlawful profiteering from her cells. The estate is being represented by Ben Crump Law. A statement from the firm highlighted that Black women patients regularly had their tissue harvested non-consensually in segregated wards, and that the procedure rendered Lacks infertile and offered no benefit in the treatment of her cancer.
