Family of woman whose cancer cells became famous gets some say in research

NEW YORK -- Some 60 years ago, a doctor in the U.S. removed cancer cells from a poor black patient named Henrietta Lacks without her knowledge or consent. Those cells eventually helped lead to a multitude of medical treatments and laid the groundwork for the multibillion-dollar biotech industry.

It's a saga made famous by the 2010 bestseller "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks."

Now the Lacks family has been given a say over at least some research involving her cells.

The family members have never shared in any of the riches unlocked by the material, and they won't make any money under the agreement announced Wednesday.

But they will have some control over scientific access to the cells' DNA code.

They had expressed privacy concerns about making that information public.