Pascale Bourret, Madeleine Akrich, Florence Paterson, Alberto Cambrosio
{"title":"Oncogene-driven advocacy: Collective expertise and therapeutic actionability.","authors":"Pascale Bourret, Madeleine Akrich, Florence Paterson, Alberto Cambrosio","doi":"10.1177/13634593251336521","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This paper is intended as a contribution to the social science literature on Patient Advocacy Groups (PAGs). It examines the recent emergence and development of cancer patient organizations that self-define as \"oncogene-focused,\" that is, as centered on tumor-driving genetic mutations that offer novel therapeutic opportunities for tumors to be targeted by precision drugs. Drawing on qualitative methods including interviews with representatives of oncogene focused PAGs, analysis of the groups' publications (biomedical journals, eNewsletters), websites, and social media activity, the paper explores the characteristics of these PAGs' forms of activism. It shows that their common denominator is a focus on patient survival. This shared goal translates into a form of activism that centers on <i>therapeutic actionability</i>, that is, a set of initiatives aiming at the articulation of research, clinical trials, and care to improve the patients' quality of life and maximize survival thanks to awareness of and access to the latest therapies. Beyond individual differences between PAGs, we observe the increasingly seamless entanglement of their activities. Their mutually supportive interventions result in the establishment of an ecosystemic form of activism that also succeeds in mobilizing clinicians and researchers at the increasingly porous interface between research and care.</p>","PeriodicalId":12944,"journal":{"name":"Health","volume":" ","pages":"13634593251336521"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9000,"publicationDate":"2025-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Health","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13634593251336521","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
This paper is intended as a contribution to the social science literature on Patient Advocacy Groups (PAGs). It examines the recent emergence and development of cancer patient organizations that self-define as "oncogene-focused," that is, as centered on tumor-driving genetic mutations that offer novel therapeutic opportunities for tumors to be targeted by precision drugs. Drawing on qualitative methods including interviews with representatives of oncogene focused PAGs, analysis of the groups' publications (biomedical journals, eNewsletters), websites, and social media activity, the paper explores the characteristics of these PAGs' forms of activism. It shows that their common denominator is a focus on patient survival. This shared goal translates into a form of activism that centers on therapeutic actionability, that is, a set of initiatives aiming at the articulation of research, clinical trials, and care to improve the patients' quality of life and maximize survival thanks to awareness of and access to the latest therapies. Beyond individual differences between PAGs, we observe the increasingly seamless entanglement of their activities. Their mutually supportive interventions result in the establishment of an ecosystemic form of activism that also succeeds in mobilizing clinicians and researchers at the increasingly porous interface between research and care.
期刊介绍:
Health: is published four times per year and attempts in each number to offer a mix of articles that inform or that provoke debate. The readership of the journal is wide and drawn from different disciplines and from workers both inside and outside the health care professions. Widely abstracted, Health: ensures authors an extensive and informed readership for their work. It also seeks to offer authors as short a delay as possible between submission and publication. Most articles are reviewed within 4-6 weeks of submission and those accepted are published within a year of that decision.