Krebiozen

Last updated

Krebiozen (aka Carcalon, creatine, substance X, or drug X) is a disproven cancer treatment that is made available as an alternative cancer treatment. While the substance has been marketed as a cure for cancer, originally sold for thousands of dollars per dose in the 1950s and early '60s, Krebiozen is not known to possess any therapeutic value. Attempts to analyze its composition have shown that Krebiozen consists only of the amino acid creatine dissolved in mineral oil, and some samples sold as Krebiozen consist solely of mineral oil with no other discernible ingredients. [1] [2]

Contents

The American Cancer Society states: "Available scientific evidence does not support claims that Krebiozen is effective in treating cancer or any other disease." According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Krebiozen has been linked to several dangerous side effects. [3]

History and evaluation

Krebiozen was initially promoted by Stevan Durovic, a Yugoslavian physician who claimed that the substance came from horse serum inoculated with Actinomyces bovis . [1] Durovic claimed that Krebiozen had been useful in the treatment of cancer, mainly in cats and dogs. His claims were backed by Andrew Conway Ivy, a prominent physiologist, and by several politicians including Senator Paul Douglas (D-IL). [1] Ivy became convinced that Krebiozen possessed anti-cancer properties, [4] administered the substance to himself and colleagues, then to a dog, and eventually started testing Krebiozen on patients. [2]

Ivy called a press conference in 1951 at which he announced to an audience of journalists, politicians, doctors and potential investors that Krebiozen was a success. At the press conference, Ivy claimed that of 22 treated patients, 14 were alive and none had died of cancer. However, in reality 10 of the treated patients had died—all of cancer—at the time of the press conference. [2] Shortly afterward, the Krebiozen Research Foundation was established by the Durovic brothers, with Ivy as president.

Intrigued by Ivy's announcement, 10 hospitals and cancer research centers followed up on the trial and attempted to reproduce Ivy's claimed results. None of these independent researchers observed any effect of Krebiozen on cancer. A compilation of these institutions' negative data was reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1951. [5] Krebiozen's backers responded by alleging a conspiracy against the drug. [2] In 1959, Ivy began producing his own version of the drug under the name "Carcalon". [6]

On October 28, 1964, the Durovics, Ivy and the Krebiozen Research Foundation were indicted for introducing mislabeled drugs into interstate commerce in violation of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. After a 9-month trial, the case ended with a hung jury and they were acquitted. [2] [7] Soon afterwards, Durovic was indicted for tax evasion and fled the United States. [6]

Composition

In order to evaluate Durovic's and Ivy's claims, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) requested samples of Krebiozen. These were provided on two occasions to the NCI and one occasion to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Durovic proposed to charge the NCI $170,000 per gram of Krebiozen, although ultimately the samples were provided free of charge. However, the FDA spectrophotometry team, led by Alma Levant Hayden, proved the samples consisted only of creatine monohydrate, a simple amino acid, sometimes dissolved in mineral oil. [1] [2] [4] [6] [8] When the FDA went back to test previously acquired samples of Krebiozen, they found that many lacked even creatine, and consisted solely of mineral oil with no discernible active ingredients. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dietary supplement</span> Product that provides additional source of nutrients

A dietary supplement is a manufactured product intended to supplement one's diet by taking a pill, capsule, tablet, powder, or liquid. A supplement can provide nutrients either extracted from food sources or that are synthetic in order to increase the quantity of their consumption. The class of nutrient compounds includes vitamins, minerals, fiber, fatty acids, and amino acids. Dietary supplements can also contain substances that have not been confirmed as being essential to life, but are marketed as having a beneficial biological effect, such as plant pigments or polyphenols. Animals can also be a source of supplement ingredients, such as collagen from chickens or fish for example. These are also sold individually and in combination, and may be combined with nutrient ingredients. The European Commission has also established harmonized rules to help insure that food supplements are safe and appropriately labeled.

Essiac is an herbal tea promoted as an alternative treatment for cancer and other illnesses. There is no evidence it is beneficial to health. In a number of studies Essiac either showed no action against cancer cells, or actually increased the rate of cancer growth. The Essiac variation "Flor Essence" in particular has shown evidence of being harmful, with laboratory tests demonstrating that it increased the growth of breast cancer cells.

The Burzynski Clinic is a controversial clinic offering an unproven cancer treatment. It was founded in 1976 and is located in Texas, United States. It is best known for the controversial "antineoplaston therapy" devised by the clinic's founder Stanislaw Burzynski in the 1970s. Antineoplaston is Burzynski's term for a group of urine-derived peptides, peptide derivatives, and mixtures that Burzynski named to use in his cancer treatment. There is no accepted scientific evidence of benefit from antineoplaston combinations for various diseases.

An active ingredient is any ingredient that provides biologically active or other direct effect in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease or to affect the structure or any function of the body of humans or animals. The similar terms active pharmaceutical ingredient and bulk active are also used in medicine, and the term active substance may be used for natural products. Some medication products may contain more than one active ingredient. The traditional word for the active pharmaceutical agent is pharmacon or pharmakon which originally denoted a magical substance or drug.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Off-label use</span> Use of pharmaceuticals for conditions different from that for which they were approved

Off-label use is the use of pharmaceutical drugs for an unapproved indication or in an unapproved age group, dosage, or route of administration. Both prescription drugs and over-the-counter drugs (OTCs) can be used in off-label ways, although most studies of off-label use focus on prescription drugs.

714-X, also referred to as 714X or trimethylbicyclonitramineoheptane chloride, is a mixture of substances manufactured by CERBE Distribution Inc and sold as an alternative medical treatment which is claimed to cure cancer, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia and other diseases. There is no scientific evidence that 714-X is effective in treating any kind of cancer, and its marketing is considered health fraud in the US.

Hoxsey Therapy or Hoxsey Method is an alternative medical treatment promoted as a cure for cancer. The treatment consists of a caustic herbal paste for external cancers or an herbal mixture for "internal" cancers, combined with laxatives, douches, vitamin supplements, and dietary changes. Reviews by major medical bodies, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Cancer Institute, the American Cancer Society, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, have found no evidence that Hoxsey Therapy is an effective treatment for cancer. The sale or marketing of the Hoxsey Method was banned in the United States by the FDA on September 21, 1960 as a "worthless and discredited" remedy and a form of quackery.

Poly-MVA is a dietary supplement created by Merrill Garnett (1931–), a former dentist turned biochemist. Poly-MVA is an ineffective alternative cancer treatment.

Reslizumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody against human interleukin-5 (IL-5). Reslizumab binds specifically to IL-5, a key cytokine responsible for the differentiation, maturation, recruitment and activation of human eosinophils. By binding to human IL-5, it blocks its biological function; consequently survival and activity of eosinophils are reduced. The benefits with reslizumab are its ability to reduce the exacerbation rate and improve lung function and asthma-related quality of life in patients with severe eosinophilic asthma and with at least one previous asthma exacerbation in the preceding year. The most common side effects are increased blood creatine phosphokinase, myalgia and anaphylactic reactions.

A protein kinase inhibitor is a type of enzyme inhibitor that blocks the action of one or more protein kinases. Protein kinases are enzymes that phosphorylate (add a phosphate, or PO4) group to a protein, and can modulate its function.

Cancell, also called Protocel, Sheridan's Formula, Jim's Juice, Crocinic Acid, JS–114, JS–101, 126–F, and Entelev, is a formula that has been promoted as a treatment for a wide range of diseases, including cancer. Cancell is available in tablet and liquid form. Originally called Entelev, the formula was developed by biochemist James V. Sheridan. Sheridan sought to target the primarily anaerobic cell metabolism of cancer cells, claiming to lower cell potential leading to the destruction of cancer cells. The Cancell formula was tested by the National Cancer Institute and found to be ineffective against cancer, though Cancell continues to be marketed as a dietary supplement in the US.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Conway Ivy</span>

Andrew Conway Ivy was an American physician. He was appointed by the American Medical Association as its representative at the 1946 Nuremberg Medical Trial for Nazi doctors, but later fell into disrepute for advocating the fraudulent drug Krebiozen.

A glossary of terms used in clinical research.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black salve</span>

Black salve, also known by the brand name Cansema, is a pseudoscientific alternative cancer treatment. The product is commonly classified as an escharotic—a topical paste which destroys skin tissue and leaves behind a scar called an eschar. Escharotics were widely used to treat skin lesions in the early 1900s, but have since been replaced by safer and more effective treatments. Escharotics, such as black salves, are currently advertised by some alternative medicine marketers as treatments for skin cancer, often with unsubstantiated testimonials and unsupported claims of effectiveness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trastuzumab emtansine</span> Pharmaceutical drug

Trastuzumab emtansine, sold under the brand name Kadcyla, is an antibody-drug conjugate consisting of the humanized monoclonal antibody trastuzumab (Herceptin) covalently linked to the cytotoxic agent DM1. Trastuzumab alone stops growth of cancer cells by binding to the HER2 receptor, whereas trastuzumab emtansine undergoes receptor-mediated internalization into cells, is catabolized in lysosomes where DM1-containing catabolites are released and subsequently bind tubulin to cause mitotic arrest and cell death. Trastuzumab binding to HER2 prevents homodimerization or heterodimerization (HER2/HER3) of the receptor, ultimately inhibiting the activation of MAPK and PI3K/AKT cellular signalling pathways. Because the monoclonal antibody targets HER2, and HER2 is only over-expressed in cancer cells, the conjugate delivers the cytotoxic agent DM1 specifically to tumor cells. The conjugate is abbreviated T-DM1.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trametinib</span> Chemical compound

Trametinib is a cancer drug. It is a MEK inhibitor drug with anti-cancer activity.It inhibits MEK1 and MEK2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Niraparib</span> Anti-cancer medication

Niraparib, sold under the brand name Zejula, is an anti-cancer medication used for the treatment of epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer. It is taken by mouth. It is a PARP inhibitor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tucatinib</span>

Tucatinib, sold under the brand name Tukysa, is a small molecule inhibitor of HER2 for the treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer. It was developed by Array BioPharma and licensed to Cascadian Therapeutics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alma Levant Hayden</span> American chemist

Alma Levant Hayden was an American chemist, and one of the first African-American women to gain a scientist position at a science agency in Washington, D.C. She joined the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the 1950s. Hayden graduated from Howard University with a master's degree in chemistry, and became an expert in spectrophotometry, the measurement of how substances absorb light. She published work on infrared and other techniques for analyzing chemicals in a range of journals. Hayden was appointed Chief of the Spectrophotometer Research Branch in the Division of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1963, and may have been the first African-American scientist at the FDA. Hayden came to national attention in 1963 when she led the team that exposed the common substance in Krebiozen, a long-controversial alternative and expensive drug promoted as anti-cancer.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Krebiozen Analyzed". Time . 1963-09-13. Archived from the original on December 22, 2008. Retrieved 2014-07-29.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Holland, James (1966-10-07). "The Krebiozen Story". Quackwatch . Retrieved 2008-10-09.
  3. ↑ "Krebiozen". American Cancer Society. 1 November 2008. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  4. 1 2 "Krebiozen". British Columbia Cancer Agency. February 2000. Archived from the original on 2008-04-16. Retrieved 2008-10-09.
  5. ↑ "STATUS report on "krebiozen"". J Am Med Assoc. 147 (9): 864–73. October 1951. PMID   14873580.
  6. 1 2 3 "Krebiozen". American Cancer Society. 20 July 2007. Archived from the original on 29 October 2008. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  7. ↑ "The Krebiozen Verdict". Time . 1966-11-02. Archived from the original on February 22, 2008. Retrieved 2014-07-29.
  8. ↑ Loory, Stuart H. (8 September 1963). "Student found clue to Krebiozen identity shortly after starting work on 20,000 spectrographs". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 24. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.