ACLU Challenges Patents on Breast Cancer Genes

Publication
Article
OncologyONCOLOGY Vol 23 No 7
Volume 23
Issue 7

The American Civil Liberties Union and the Public Patent Foundation at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law filed a lawsuit charging that patents on two human genes associated with breast and ovarian cancer stifle research that could lead to cures and limit women’s options regarding their medical care.

The American Civil Liberties Union and the Public Patent Foundation at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law filed a lawsuit charging that patents on two human genes associated with breast and ovarian cancer stifle research that could lead to cures and limit women's options regarding their medical care. Mutations along the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are responsible for most cases of hereditary breast and ovarian cancers. The lawsuit argues that the patents on these genes are unconstitutional and invalid.

Articles in this issue
What Is the Optimal Initial Treatment of Low-Risk Papillary Thyroid Cancer (and Why Is It Controversial)?
What Is the Optimal Initial Treatment of Low-Risk Papillary Thyroid Cancer (and Why Is It Controversial)?
Low-Risk Papillary Thyroid Cancer: Treatment Options and Patient Perceptions
Can Risk-Adapted Treatment Recommendations Replace the ‘One Size Fits All’ Approach for Early-Stage Thyroid Cancer Patients?
Prophylactic Central Lymph Node Dissection: Continued Controversy
Music Therapy
Music Therapy
LHRH Antagonists vs LHRH Agonists: Which Is More Beneficial in Prostate Cancer Therapy?
Is There a Role for LHRH Antagonists in Prostate Cancer?
Important Considerations in LHRH Antagonist Therapy for Prostate Cancer
The Role of LHRH Antagonists in the Treatment of Prostate Cancer
Maintenance Therapy With Pemetrexed Improves Overall Survival in Advanced NSCLC
PARP Inhibitors Show Promise for Hard-to-Treat Breast Cancers
Therapeutic Cancer Vaccine Significantly Prolongs Disease-Free Survival for Follicular Lymphoma
Vaccine Improves Response Rate and Extends Progression-Free Survival in Metastatic Melanoma
‘Natural’ Hormone Replacement and Breast Cancer Risk: Evidence for Safety and Efficacy
Phase IIIB Trial of Intermittent Degarelix Therapy Launched

Newsletter

Stay up to date on recent advances in the multidisciplinary approach to cancer.

Subscribe Now!
Recent Videos
Photographic and written documentation can help providers recognize inflammatory breast cancer symptoms across diverse populations.
The use of guideline-concordant care in breast cancer appears to be more common in White populations than Black populations.
Strict inclusion criteria may disproportionately exclude racial minority populations from participating in breast cancer trials.
Findings from the OVARIO study show that patients with HRR–deficient and BRCA-mutated disease benefitted the most from niraparib/bevacizumab maintenance.
Related Content
86 Elacestrant Combinations in Patients With Estrogen Receptor-Positive, HER2-Negative Locally Advanced or Metastatic Breast Cancer: Update From ELEVATE, a Phase 1b/2, Open-Label, Umbrella Study

86 Elacestrant Combinations in Patients With Estrogen Receptor-Positive, HER2-Negative Locally Advanced or Metastatic Breast Cancer: Update From ELEVATE, a Phase 1b/2, Open-Label, Umbrella Study

Hope S. Rugo, MD;Sara M. Tolaney, MD, MPH;Nancy Chan;Erika P. Hamilton, MD;Marina Sharifi;Kristine Rinn;Wassim McHayleh;Rinat Yerushalmi;Neelima Vidula, MD;Joyce O’Shaughnessy, MD;Guiseppe Curigliano;Javier Cortés, MD;Paula Muñoz Romero;Bartomeu Piza Vallespir;Kathy Puyana Theall;Alessandro Paoli;Monica Binaschi;Tomer Wasserman;Virginia Kaklamani, MD, DSc
April 25th 2025
Article
Findings highlight a need to incorporate diverse populations when developing guideline-concordant breast cancer care to achieve efficacy for all patients.

Eliminating Racial Disparities in Guideline-Concordant Breast Cancer Care

Oluwadamilola “Lola” Fayanju, MD, MA, MPHS, FACS
April 21st 2025
Podcast

Findings highlight a need to incorporate diverse populations when developing guideline-concordant breast cancer care to achieve efficacy for all patients.

88 Eflapegrastim, a Long-Acting Granulocyte Colony–Stimulating Factor, Administered the Same Day as Chemotherapy in Patients With Early-Stage Breast Cancer: Results From a Multicenter, Open-Label Study

88 Eflapegrastim, a Long-Acting Granulocyte Colony–Stimulating Factor, Administered the Same Day as Chemotherapy in Patients With Early-Stage Breast Cancer: Results From a Multicenter, Open-Label Study

Lee Schwartzberg, MD, FACP;Omkar Marathe;Shanta Chawla;Jeffrey L. Vacirca;Kenneth Crist;Howard Franklin;Manuel Modiano
April 23rd 2025
Article
Low grade serous ovarian cancer, a rare epithelial ovarian cancer subtype, requires differentiated treatment from its high-grade counterpart.

Redefining the Treatment Paradigm in Low Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer

Kathleen N. Moore, MD, MS
March 17th 2025
Podcast

Low grade serous ovarian cancer, a rare epithelial ovarian cancer subtype, requires differentiated treatment from its high-grade counterpart.

90 Contralateral Risk Reduction Mastectomy in Patients With Unilateral Breast Cancer: A Multinational and Multidisciplinary Survey—Physicians’ Perspective

90 Contralateral Risk Reduction Mastectomy in Patients With Unilateral Breast Cancer: A Multinational and Multidisciplinary Survey—Physicians’ Perspective

Atilla Soran, MD, MPH;Kazim Senol;Schlomo Schneebaum;Shigeru Imoto;Carole Mathelin;Alexander Mundinger;Meltem Selam;Vahit Ozmen
April 21st 2025
Article
T-DXd With Pertuzumab Improves PFS in HER2+ Metastatic Breast Cancer

T-DXd With Pertuzumab Improves PFS in HER2+ Metastatic Breast Cancer

Tim Cortese
April 21st 2025
Article

Data from the T-DXd monotherapy arm of the phase 3 DESTINY-Breast09 trial will remain blinded until the final PFS analysis.