Henrietta Lacks' Cells Are Still Helping Protect Women From Cervical Cancer

When Henrietta Lacks was being treated for cervical cancer more than 60 years ago, her cells were taken for medical research without her consent. This ethical controversy became the subject of a 2010 best-selling book, Rebecca Skloot’s The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks, and now an HBO movie of the same name starring Oprah Winfrey. Despite radiation therapy and surgery, Lacks died from the cancer in 1951. But her cells, known to scientists as HeLa cells, have played a role in many scientific advancements ― and have helped protect other young women from the cervical cancer that took Lacks’ life. Each year, some 12,000 women in the U.S. are diagnosed with cervical cancer, and 4,000 women die from it. Because not all HPV infections lead to cervical cancer, there are no estimates available of how many cases of cervical cancer were prevented thanks to the HPV vaccine, and, ultimately, the HeLa cells. However, HPV vaccinations do prevent infections from two high-risk viruses that cause 70 percent of cervical cancers, and virtually all cases of cervical cancer are caused by HPV. Because the HeLa cells came from a cancerous tumor, they multiplied quickly, allowing scientists to start a line of human cells that can live outside the body. Every 24 hours, a new generation of cells is reproduced, creating a wealth of biological material to work with.  “It is well acknowledged that many biological discoveries wouldn’t have been possible...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - Category: Science Source Type: news