Seventy-five years ago, Henrietta Lacks unknowingly became a pivotal figure in medical history when doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital harvested cells from her cervical cancer tumor without her consent. Those cells, known as HeLa cells, have since revolutionized research practices and played a crucial role in numerous medical advancements, including the development of vaccines for polio and HPV, as well as treatments for HIV/AIDS and leukemia.
Lacks, an African American woman born in 1920 in Roanoke, Virginia, sought medical help on February 1, 1951. At the time, Johns Hopkins was one of the few hospitals offering medical care to Black patients. Following a biopsy, she was diagnosed with cervical cancer. Unbeknownst to her, doctors took samples of both her cancerous and healthy cells during treatment, which were later cultured by Dr. George Gey. This process led to the creation of the first immortal human cell line, allowing researchers to grow cells that continuously reproduce outside the human body.
While Lacks passed away shortly after her diagnosis, the impact of her cells has been profound. Local researchers today reflect on the influence of HeLa cells in their work. “To the modern researcher, the fact that cells were taken and established into an immortalized, forever-growing cell line from a patient that didn’t know that happened is astounding,” said Cigall Kadoch, an associate professor at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
The story of Henrietta Lacks gained significant attention with the publication of Rebecca Skloot’s book, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” in 2010. More recently, Lacks’s family reached a confidential settlement with Thermo Fisher Scientific in 2023, claiming the company profited from a medical system that exploited Black individuals. Earlier this month, they also settled with Novartis, a Swiss pharmaceutical giant.
Lacks’s legacy extends beyond her cells; it has prompted a reevaluation of ethical standards in research. For instance, Dr. Sabrina Assoumou, an infectious disease physician at Boston Medical Center, credits much of her clinical research on HIV to the foundational work done using HeLa cells. Assoumou is currently involved in disseminating a long-acting HIV medication, Sunlenca, to marginalized communities.
“HeLa cells have been critical for many scientific discoveries, especially for HIV in terms of understanding how infection actually works,” Assoumou explained. Early researchers discovered that HeLa cells do not become infected with HIV in the same way as immune cells, allowing them to study the virus’s behavior more effectively.
Kadoch’s lab at Dana-Farber works directly with HeLa cells, contributing to advancements in gene sequencing and cancer research. “Cancer is not one disease, but a very diverse, heterogeneous collection of many different diseases,” she noted. However, she emphasized the challenges in establishing cell lines for all cancer types, as human cells can change when cultured in different laboratory conditions.
The HeLa cell line has not only inspired lifesaving breakthroughs but also ignited discussions about informed consent in medical research. Assoumou has helped develop educational courses for medical interpreters that address historical medical mistrust, featuring cases like Lacks’s and the Tuskegee syphilis study. These courses aim to empower interpreters to advocate for patients who may not speak English fluently.
Kadoch highlighted the importance of diversity in research participants, noting that cancer mutations can vary significantly across different populations. “We’ll do a better job for our worldly effort against cancer if we understand the heterogeneous repertoire of individuals that get these diseases,” she stated.
As the legacy of Henrietta Lacks continues to influence modern medical research, Kadoch encourages her colleagues to appreciate the origins of their work. “Know what you work with, and where it came from,” she advised. The impact of Lacks’s cells serves as a reminder of the ethical responsibilities researchers bear in their pursuit of knowledge.
