MIRACLE CANCER CURE -- THE FDA
DOES NOT WANT YOU.TO
HAVE!
by Thomas M. Sipos, L.A. Bureau Chief.
[January 14, 2003]
[WeeklyUniverse.com] A
new medical magic bullet -- antineoplaston
therapy -- is curing cancers at an astonishing success rate -- but
amazingly, the FDA wants to suppress it!
 That's the incredible charge
of investigative journalist Thomas D. Elias, author of The
Burzynski Breakthrough: The Most Promising Cancer Treatment ... and the
Government's Campaign to Squelch It, as explained to the Weekly Universe
in an exclusive interview.
* Burzynski's Antineoplaston Miracle
The key to
this new miracle cancer cure are antineoplastons (Greek for "anti-cancer")
which are peptide fragments formed by amino
acids. Their major active ingredients include phenylacetate,
sodium phenylbutyrate, and sodium phenylisobutyrate.
Explains
Elias: "Antineoplastons are found in profusion in the blood and urine of
healthy individuals -- but are virtually absent in cancer victims. The compounds were first noted in the early 1960s by researchers at Rockefeller
University, but no one linked them to cancer until Stanislaw
Burzynski in 1968 noted their absence in cancer victims."
At the
time of his amazing discovery, Burzynski was a medical student in Poland. He came to America to escape Communist persecution -- just before the Polish
army was to send him to serve as a medical officer for the Viet Cong! Coming
to America in 1970, Burzynski became a researcher at Baylor University
College of Medicine in Houston, where he continued his study of peptides
with transplant surgeon Michael DeBakey. He left Baylor in 1976,
with the rank of associate professor.
To date,
Burzynski has identified 117 antineoplaston compounds, but his antineoplaston
drug uses only the two "broadest-acting" compounds. But Elias adds
that Burzynski "theorizes that if he had time and money to test the others,
he would find one specific to every type of human cancer!"
In The
Burzynski Breakthrough, Elias charts the clinical trial results of
Burzynski's antineoplaston treatment against dozens of types of cancer. "All these figures derive from progress reports sent to the FDA, which
are required of anyone who conducts clinical trials," says Elias. "But there is no other cancer treatment for which the manufacturer has
ever made precise performance figures available.
"Overall,
Burzynski's drug draws significant responses in about 65% of all cancers
on which it has been used. This includes complete remissions, partial
remissions (i.e., more than 50% reduction of tumor within six months of
start of treatment), and stable disease (less than 50% tumor reduction,
but
no progression -- which can be a very significant result if you have a
fast-growing brain tumor that's not responding to anything else).
"Burzynski's
drug works via a chemical reaction that reactivates tumor suppresser genes
-- specifically the p53 tumor suppresser gene -- which have been quieted,
usually because they've been coated with methyl groups. About 60-65%
of all cancers are associated with malfunction of the p53 gene, so Burzynski's
numbers are apparently is no accident."
* Antineoplastons Tops Chemo & Radiation
Antineoplaston's
astonishing success rate vs. standard treatments are starkest with brain
tumors. Burzynski has about a 65% response rate for all types of
brain cancers, whereas chemo and radiation achieve five-year cures in less
than 1% of all cases. Chemotherapeutic agents rarely reach the brain
(because of the "blood-brain barrier") whereas antineoplastons do!
Antineoplastons
have also proven dramatically effective against such cancers as lymphomas
(Hodgkins and non-Hodgkins), renal cell (kidney), hepatic (liver), and
breast. "Another
major difference between antineoplastons and chemo is that antineoplastons
are non-toxic," adds Elias, "so patients do not lose hair or become nauseous. Antineoplaston's relatively mild side effects include frequent urination
and a fever in the early stages of tumor breakdown."
* Is He A Quack?
"Burzynski
is frequently accused of being a quack," says Elias, "but no quack would
publish negative results -- which Burzynski provided to me right along
with the good ones.
"As the
discoverer of antineoplastons, Burzynski holds the patents for them, and
is conducting clinical trials at the moment against 72 types of cancer. My
book reports both good and bad response rates for various cancer types. "A quack
also would not send away patients, telling them he can't help or that some
other treatment would be better for them, as Burzynski does with some patients. For instance, for childhood leukemia, he will tell you the standard treatments
work pretty well."
* Growing Worldwide Acceptance
Research
centers around the world are now studying antineoplastons -- including
a few doctors in Germany, Sweden, Holland, Australia, and Switzerland.
"At the
University of Kurume Medical School in Japan," says Elias, "Dr. Hideaki
Tsuda heads a team that has had notable success against liver and kidney
cancer -- including curing the University chancellor of a liver cancer
for which he had been given a terminal diagnosis!
"But in
the USA, Burzynski is the only doctor who acknowledges using them. "A second
clinical trial site at Beth Israel Hospital in New York was to begin accepting
patients about six months ago, but Dr. Fred Epstein (an Albert Einstein
Medical School professor and pediatric neuro-oncologist) who wanted to
head that study, was injured in a bicycle accident, and is not yet fully
recovered. So that clinical trial is in abeyance, even though the
Institutional Review Board at Beth Israel has okayed it."
* Endorsed by Julian Whitaker
One of the
many supporters of Burzynski is alternative health expert, Dr. Julian
Whitaker.
"Whitaker
has written about Burzynski and antineoplastons on several occasions in
his newsletter," says Elias. "He appeared on two television programs
with me and Burzynski, and gave the keynote address in March 2001 -- when
500 cured Burzynski patients gave a testimonial dinner for him in Houston! " Whitaker
has also written about the FDA's persecution of Burzynski -- which goes
well beyond mere harassment.
* FDA Suppression
Despite
the
amazing success of antineoplastons, the Food
and Drug Administration is trying to suppress them! " Yes,
the FDA is trying to suppress antineoplastons," confirms Elias. "There
also has been an effort to steal them, with the FDA cooperating with Elan
Pharmaceutical Corp. in that effort.
"Elan
now is in deep financial trouble, so I don't believe they are much involved
any more. But I have copies of signed internal National
Cancer Institute documents in which NCI official Michael Friedman stated
as early as 1992 that 'the human brain tumor responses are real' but that
it would be easier for the FDA to develop the drug through a large pharmaceutical
company."
The Weekly
Universe has also learned that the
NCI now acknowledges Burzynski's research on its website. However,
the NCI claims that at this point [May 20, 2002], "no definitive conclusions
can be drawn about the effectiveness of treatment with antineoplastons."
Elias
reports that Friedman went on to become deputy commissioner for operations
at
the FDA, then acting commissioner during the last two years of Clinton's
term. He is now senior VP at Abbott Laboratories (a division of Monsanto
Corp.).
"The FDA
is on record as saying it has never, and never will, license a drug to
a private entrepreneur," says Elias. "Instead, in 1997, the FDA put
Burzynski on criminal trial, charging him with 75 counts of interstate
trafficking of an unapproved drug, and with insurance fraud. Burzynski
was acquitted on all counts. Since then, the FDA has merely harassed
him and his patients.
But while
one arm of the government is trying to stop Burzynski from saving dying
patients, another branch is trying to steal Burzynski's work!
"NCI patent
applications for drugs that precisely duplicate Burzynski's drugs establish
that the government knows this drug works!" charges Elias. "It is
clear from an NCI response to my FOIA request that the FDA prosecuted Burzynski
in
hopes of putting him away somewhere where he could not protect his patents!"
* The Chilling Timeline
Elias offers
the following timeline to prove his chilling charges:
* 1989 -- Burzynski
cures Elan founder Donald Panoz's sister-in-law of a brain tumor.
* 1990 -- Elan signs a letter
of intent with Burzynski to hold clinical trials for antineoplastons, and
bring them to market, paying Burzynski a substantial royalty.
* 1990 -- During the 90-day
period in which either party can cancel the contract, Elan sends scientists
to Burzynski's clinic & manufacturing plant (since 1980, all antineoplastons
are produced synthetically) and learns he has not patented simple phenylacetate
as a cancer therapy. Burzynski says he did not do so because plain PA is
about one-tenth as effective as his more complex compounds. Elan
cancels the contract.
* 1991 -- Elan begins funding
a 10-center clinical trial of plain phenylacetate against brain tumors.
Elan also begins funding Dr. Dvorit Samid's laboratory at the Uniformed
Services Medical School in Bethesda, and continues funding Samid when she
moves on to the NCI and later to the University of Virginia Medical School. Samid began researching antineoplastons in 1988 using materials supplied
by Burzynski. There is correspondence to prove this.
* 1993 -- Samid signs the
NCI patent applications.
* Spring 1995 -- NIH (National
Institute of Health) receives patents virtually identical to Burzynski's.
* May 1995 -- Elan receives
a license from NIH to develop the government's patents. How much
Elan pays for this license is redacted from the contract copy sent to me
in response to my FOIA request.
* June 1995 -- FDA agents,
reinforced by gun-toting DEA and ATF agents, raid Burzynski's clinic, rousting
patients from waiting room at gun-point, some in wheelchairs.
* Sept.
1995 -- Burzynski is indicted. He becomes the first scientist ever
indicted for the use of a drug on which the FDA has granted him permits
to conduct clinical trials.
* May 1997 -- Burzynski is
acquitted in federal district court in Houston.
"The timeline
pretty much establishes that while the FDA was trying to squelch this drug
prior to 1991, it was in cahoots with Elan afterward to steal it," adds
Elias. "The movement of individuals from the NCI to FDA, and then
to industry (one key person became an Elan VP) facilitated all this.
"However,
the FDA's legal effort against Burzynski began in 1983," says Elias, giving
details in his Burzynski
Breakthrough.
* Politicos, Good and Bad
In
any story of big corporate lies and ruthless government coverup, there
are heroes and villains. The Weekly Universe asked Elias to name
the good and the bad among "the people's" representatives. Those
who are helping to bring Burzynski's life-saving therapy to dying patients
-- and those opposed!
Says Elias:
"The main hinderer among politicians is Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA),
my very own congressman! Were he still chairman of the House Commerce
subcommittee overseeing the FDA, Burzynski would probably be out of business. This is because of Waxman's close alliance with the FDA, spurred by his
fierce anti-tobacco stance.
"Among
those who stick up for antineoplastons is Representative Dan Burton (R-IN),
who held several hearings on the topic while chairman of the House Government
Operations committee. Others who have been supportive are Representative
Joe Barton (R-TX) and Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA).
* Tantamount to Murder
Concludes
Elias: "I believe the FDA's actions in keeping this treatment off the general
market and out of general use are tantamount to murder of many thousands
of patients who could still be alive if antineoplastons had been available
to them.
"This
is the best and most important story I have ever covered. What I've
told you here is just a fraction of the story. That's why I had to
write it in book-length." The
Burzynski Breakthrough has been optioned for a TV movie. [In 2010, Burzynski's story was produced as a film documentary: Burzynski, The Movie: Cancer Is Serious Business.]
Thomas
D. Elias may be contacted at: tdelias@aol.com.
Stanislaw
Burzynski may be contacted through his Burzynski
Patient's Group.
| * Who
is Thomas D. Elias?
Thomas D.
Elias writes a syndicated political column appearing twice weekly in 70
newspapers around California, with circulation over 1.89 million. He has won awards from the National Headliners Club, the California
Newspaper Publishers Association, the Greater Los Angeles Press Club,
and the California Taxpayers Association. He has been nominated three
times for the Pulitzer Prize in distinguished commentary.
His books
include The
Burzynski Breakthrough and The
Simpson Trial in Black and White (co-authored with Dennis Schatzman). He serves on the national advisory boards of the Polycystic Kidney Research
Foundation and the Center for Talented Youth, Johns Hopkins University. He has been honored for his volunteer work by the Los Angeles Human Relations
Commission, the National Kidney Foundation and the Anti-Defamation League.
He is working on a third book, about his experiences with kidney failure
and later as a kidney transplant recipient. He was West
Coast correspondent for the Scripps Howard Newspapers for 15 years before
he
began writing books. He is a regular contributor to Long Island Newsday
and the national Cox News Service. He has appeared on The Today Show,
CBS This Morning, the CBS Evening News, Larry King Live, Rivera Live and
C-Span's Book TV.
He holds
a bachelor's and a master's degree from Stanford University, has taught
journalism at the University of Southern California, California State University
at Northridge, and two other Cal State campuses.
|
Copyright 2003 by WeeklyUniverse.com
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