Embodied innovation and regulation of medical technoscience: transformations in cancer patienthood

Kerr, A. and Cunningham-Burley, S. (2015) Embodied innovation and regulation of medical technoscience: transformations in cancer patienthood. Law, Innovation and Technology, 7(2), pp. 187-205. (doi: 10.1080/17579961.2015.1106103) (PMID:27996062) (PMCID:PMC5139616)

Abstract

Biomedical advances are transforming the diagnosis and treatment of disease. Patienthood is also transforming, as patients actively participate in research, innovation and regulation of novel technologies and therapies. In this paper we explore the new kinds of practices that patients are performing in their roles as research subject, co-researchers, donors, campaigners, representatives and consumers of novel stratified therapies. We outline their embodied contributions to clinical trials, biobanks and stratified therapies prior to, during and after having cancer. Exploring how patienthood involves donating more than tissue or data to these developments, we consider their emotional and identity work which informs and shapes the novel diagnostics and therapies being developed. We also consider how this kind of work is stratified according to the social and biological location of participants, and end by reflecting on the implications of our analysis for the organisation and regulation of biomedicine.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This work was supported by the Wellcome Trust [104831/Z/14/Z].
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Kerr, Professor Anne
• Authors: Kerr, A., and Cunningham-Burley, S.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Sociology Anthropology and Applied Social Sciences
• Journal Name: Law, Innovation and Technology
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• ISSN: 1757-9961
• ISSN (Online): 1757-997X
• Published Online: 02 February 2016
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2015 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Law, Innovation and Technology 7(2): 187-205
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License