Antineoplastons

08 August 2013

Recently, the Canadian Cancer Society has received inquiries about antineoplastons and their potential as a cure for some cancers, as well as questions about the research of Dr Stanislaw Burzynski.

Before making a decision about using a therapy, the Society encourages patients to find out all they can about the treatment and its possible effects and to discuss its use with a doctor or healthcare professional.

Antineoplaston therapy involves using a group of compounds called antineoplastons to control the growth of cancer cells. Antineoplastons are made up mostly of peptides and amino acids taken from human blood and urine. It is claimed that antineoplastons affect certain genes within cancer cells (such as tumour suppressor genes) that affect cancer cell growth.

Supporters of this therapy state that people with cancer do not have enough naturally occurring antineoplastons and that antineoplaston therapy replenishes the body’s supply and can therefore be successful in treating many types of cancer. However, there is no conclusive scientific evidence published to date that antineoplaston therapy is effective in treating cancer or that antineoplastons inhibit the growth of cancer cells.

Dr Stanislaw Burzynski developed antineoplaston therapy and believes these compounds provide natural protection against cancer. Since the 1980s, several health organizations, researchers and government health agencies (including the Ontario Health Ministry) have evaluated Dr Burzynski’s research. They all concluded that the research results did not provide enough valid information to determine whether antineoplastons were of any benefit to cancer patients.

According to the American Cancer Society: “Dr Burzynski currently has permission from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to conduct clinical trials of antineoplaston therapy at his clinic. The National Cancer Institute and researchers at several cancer centers are also conducting laboratory experiments on the peptides involved in antineoplaston therapy. While many articles have been published and dozens of clinical trials against many types of cancer have been ongoing at Dr Burzynski’s clinic for several years, there have not been any randomized controlled trials – the type of study that is required for new anti-cancer drugs to be approved by the FDA and recommended by conventional oncologists.”

Although some promising results of the use of antineoplaston therapy have been reported in small studies, most of these have been directed by Dr Burzynski. The results have not been consistently duplicated in other cancer centres.

For more information, please contact our Cancer Information Service at 1-888-939-3333 or info@cis.cancer.ca.