Cancer and the Human Genome: Ethical Implications

Using historical methods, this project explores the relevance of eugenics to genomics for the specific case of cancer theory and policy. The project will first examine the history of eugenics to see how genetic information was used in the 1920's-1940's to stigmatize or discriminate against specific individuals or members of groups. A second part examines the history of recent cancer theory to determine the extent to which evidence has been found that cancer is genetic, in the various senses of that term. The discovery of oncogenes and genes predisposing certain individuals or groups to specific types of cancer will be traced, along with policy implications conceived to flow from these discoveries. A third and final part compares and contrasts the potential dangers implicit in the biological determinism of eugenics and genomics. Efforts will be made to assess the extent to which the biological determinism often associated with genomics will have different social consequences from the determinism of earlier eugenics.