Boston Cancer Policy Institute

Though translational science is promising in understanding neurobiological pathways of cancer induced-bone pain and epilepsy, they have barriers to a legal requirement of informed consent. Physical and cognitive characteristics of specific subgroups compromise their self-determination capacity, the precondition of valid consent. This chapter investigates two directions to mitigate barriers. One is to extend trusteeship governance to introduce fairness-based stakeholder theory. In based on this model, subjects enter a cooperative scheme of research with a consent. A catalyst is fair transaction model of informed consent that fairly limits investigators’ responsibility to assure the same level of understanding on the side of subjects. The other is to refine the measurement standards of self-determination capacity, as even minimal-conscious-state subjects retain a consent capacity with the aid of imaging technologies.