Review: The Way of All Flesh

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Imagine one morning your phone rings and the doctor on the other end of the line wants to perform tests on you and your family members. He is trying to clear up some confusion regarding the cells of your mother, who had passed away 25 years prior. This was a call received by Henrietta Lacks’ family. Dr. George Gey treated Henrietta for cervical cancer and had taken a sample of her tissue hoping to discover a way to propagate cells in a laboratory setting. He collected this tissue without her knowledge or consent and referred to them by the pseudonym HeLa cells. These cells were sold to laboratories across the world, sent into space, used to create the polio vaccination, gave birth to gene mapping, and ruined more than twenty years of medical research.

The second annual PVCC One Book Project was launched on Sept. 2. Anyone could receive a free copy of this year’s selection, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” and participate in any number of different events revolving around the book.

One event was a showing of the documentary “The Way of All Flesh,” by Adam Curtis, on Oct. 28 in the Betty Sue Jessup Library. While the book discusses the impact HeLa cells had on science, medicine and politics, it also discusses the ethical ramifications and the profound impact on the Lacks family. The documentary narrows the focus to the impact HeLa cells’ made in science, medicine and politics while introducing the family and their struggles, briefly.

After a short introduction, the documentary goes into great detail on HeLa cells’ impact on cancer research, specifically with the discovery of the polio vaccination. In the documentary, the shock her family felt and the attempts they made to gain financial compensation for her contribution to science was discussed; however, the focus largely remained on the scientific community, the impacts on politics and the damage that was caused to research.

Scientists began noticing that healthy cells left in cultures in the lab began to “suddenly transform into malignant cancer cells.” This discovery led scientists to believe they were witnessing spontaneous transformation, where healthy cells suddenly change without the addition of a transformative agent. The theory gave rise to the belief that cancer was caused by a virus that was coming into contact with the cells.

When scientist Mathilde Krim discussed this theory with her friend Mary Lasker, an heiress-turned-widow by cancer, Mary decided to use her influence and connections to convince politicians they should start a cancer research program, similar to the space program. Using the cancer virus theory, she explained to the politicians that it was a simple cure once isolated, and that they should be involved in such research and claim credit for the program that led to the cure.

While Mary Lasker was persuading President Nixon to start the National War on Cancer Program, which provided scientists researching the cancer virus with 100 million dollars, geneticist Stanley Garter discovered a contamination problem. After studying hundreds of cell lines from several researchers, Garter discovered that all of them contained glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase-A (G6PD-A), a rare enzyme that is only found in humans of African descent. The problem was that he was supposed to be studying caucasian cell lines.

He announced his discovery at a meeting for cell biologists and was disregarded. That is, until Walter Nelson-Rees discovered that HeLa cells could travel through the air on dust particles. Once HeLa cells came into contact with a tissue in culture, it would multiply faster, eventually taking over and replacing the original tissue entirely. This discovery gave caused all labs to search for HeLa contamination. Scientists discovered that almost all laboratories had tissue samples that had been contaminated with HeLa cells, even in building 41, a research facility especially built for the discovery of the cancer virus with airlocks and a specialized ventilation system, that had never had any HeLa cells brought into the building.

This discovery effectively ended the War Against Cancer Program. Billions of dollars had been spent on research, all of the samples had been contaminated, years of research had been wasted studying the wrong cells, and any information gained or discoveries made from these samples were nullified. After discussing all of these issues, the documentary goes on to explain the benefits HeLa cells had on genetics. Using HeLa cells that had been fused with those of a living white mouse, geneticists were able to begin mapping genes. This new research angle meant scientists needed a more complete background on Henrietta’s genetics, leading them to contact her children.

The scientists asked if they could take samples from the four surviving Lacks children, which came as a shock to them since they had no knowledge of her cells existing. The Lacks family hired an attorney to find out if they had any legal rights to their mother’s cells, to receive any financial gain from the profits being made off of her cells, or at the very least have their mother recognized for her contribution to science. For their efforts, Oct. 11 is now recognized in Atlanta as Henrietta Lacks Day.

Scientists believed they could cure cancer if they could locate the genes affected by cancers. For this research, they needed funding. Chief Executive in the Biotechnology Industry, (1985-1995), Kirk Raab, states in regards to funding research, “The scientists said to the capitalists we now have a technology that’s going to enable us to cure cancer, and it was more than hope, it was a belief, and it fostered the biotechnology industry.”

The hope for finding a cure for cancer through genetic manipulation also failed. At the end of all of this, scientists are no closer to discovering a cure for cancer than they were 50 years ago, though some specialized treatments have made advances.

The introduction to “The Way of All Flesh” makes the focus obvious. “In 1951 a woman died in Baltimore, in America. She was called Henrietta Lacks. These are cells from her body, they were taken from her just before she died. They have been growing and multiplying ever since. . .These cells have transformed modern medicine, but they also became caught up in the politics of our age. They shaped the policies of countries and of Presidents, they even became involved in the cold war. Because scientists were convinced that in her cells lay the secret of how to conquer death.”

Despite the documentary’s focus on the scientific and political impact of HeLa, as the credits rolled, one student quipped, “It was nice to finally see the family in person.” Several others heartily agreed, demonstrating that personal connections can be made with complete strangers, if you get to know their story.