These are amino-acid compounds (called peptides)
found in the blood and urine of healthy people but which are deficient in
cancer patients. They were discovered in 1967 by Stanislaw Burzynski, M.D.,
Ph.D., while a graduate student in Poland. When Burzynski came to the United
States to practice medicine, he patented a process for manufacturing these
substances and began to administer them to cancer patients on the theory that
they will cause cancer cells to revert back to normal cells. In spite of fierce
opposition by the AMA and FDA, many patients claim that their cancers have been
controlled by this treatment.
What
are Antineoplastons?
The existence of antineoplastons has been known for
decades, though they went unnamed and unexamined. They are peptides (complex
molecules built from amino acids) found in blood that most biologists had
previously regarded as simply waste products. It wasn’t until Dr Stanislaw
Burzynski discovered that people with cancer had very low levels of these
peptides that he began investigating and eventually concluded: “The body itself
has a treatment for cancer.”
A neoplasm is another name for a cancer; neo
meaning new and plasm meaning formation. Dr Burzynski
named the peptides antineoplastons (antineoplasms or anticancers).
When Dr Burzynski began his investigations, early
testing showed great promise. He presented his first paper on antineoplastons
at the Annual Meeting of Federation of American Societies for Experimental
Biology in 1976.
Antineoplastons, as described by Dr Burzynski, are
an integral part of cellular communication. If we see cancer as a
miscommunication that leads to rapid, out-of-control growth, then introducing
antineoplastons to the equation allows cells to self-correct the problem; this
new information (supplied by the antineoplaston) reprograms the cells’ growth
pattern, thus healing the cancer.
Another way to look at how antineoplastons work
involves gene expression: the process by which the coded information in a gene
is converted first into RNA and then into a protein. Antineoplastons attack
cancers at the genetic level by expressing the "correct" information
that turns off oncogenes (cancer genes) and turning on tumor suppressor genes.
Turning off and on specific genes can have a profound effect on how we age,
treat, and prevent disease.
In a study carried out by the Department of Defense
(in Bethesda, Maryland) antineoplastons in tissue cultures caused cancer cells
to revert to normal cells in just two to three days.
How
it Works?
Antineoplastons occur naturally in healthy human
beings. In cancer patients they are much scarcer. For his research Dr.
Burzynski originally harvested them from blood, and when his supply of blood
ran out, he used urine. Today, he manufactures (synthesizes) them in the
laboratory. Soon, it might be possible to help diagnose cancer by measuring the
levels of antineoplastons in simple blood tests.
Antineoplastons must be administered continually to
work. Cancer cells must be allowed to revert back to normal cells, and live out
their lives to normal cellular death. If the therapy is stopped, the normal
cell will once again behave like a cancer cell and take on a remarkable
immortal quality—only the patient dies, not the cancer cells.
“There are two ways of administrating
antineoplastons. The first is tablet, or capsule form. The
prescription drug called Buphenyl has been approved by the FDA. It does
not contain antineoplastons; it is converted to antineoplaston AS2-1 in the
liver. It has, so far, no contraindications except extremely rare cases
of acute hyperammonemia (a condition in which the blood ammonia levels become
elevated). Daily IV is the usual method of administrating antineoplastons for
particularly difficult cancers; an automatic delivery system (miniature pump)
provides antineoplastons 6 times a day, though for others whose cancer is not
that difficult, they can be treated also on an outpatient basis receiving an IV
drip during the night while sleeping.
It should be noted that the prescription drug,
Buphenyl, is typically used for less aggressive and less advanced forms of
cancer. It is available only in tablets and that is why the dosage is
much smaller than intravenous antineoplastons. It can be used in any
cancer listed for antineoplastons, but in more advanced and more aggressive
varieties it is preferred to use Buphenyl in combination with other anticancer
agents, such as targeted therapy, immunotherapy, or medium and low doses of
chemotherapy.
Diseases
where Antineoplastons Proved Useful?
Dr Burzynski’s clinic in Houston has just completed
Phase II trials. They now know which cancers antineoplastons are most effective
against.
- Primary
brain tumors in children and adults, including glioblastoma, anaplastic
astrocytoma, high-grade glioma, brain stem glioma, medulloblastoma,
pineoblastoma, oligodendroglioma, mixed glioma, atypical teratoid/rhabdoid
tumors, low-grade astrocytoma and visual pathway glioma.
- Colon
cancer with liver metastases.
- Primary
liver cancer.
- Non-Hodgkin’s
lymphoma.
- Prostate
cancer.
- Lung
cancer.
- Malignant
melanoma.
- Pancreatic cancer.
- Esophageal
cancer.
- Urinary
bladder cancer.
- Multiple
myeloma.
- Mesothelioma.
- Adrenal gland cancer.
Improvement is generally seen quite quickly, many
patients returning to work after just 6 weeks but still continuing therapy.
The good thing is that Antineoplastons do not seem
to interfere with additional conventional or unconventional therapies. They are
a part of a healthy human body.
FDA
Approval
Antineoplastons have not been approved by the Food
and Drug Administration as safe and effective for the treatment of any disease
or condition. However, clinical trials are under way on this treatment.
Dr. Burzynski has been approved by the Food and Drug
Administration as Principal Investigator in over 70 clinical trial studies.
These studies encompass a wide range of cancer types in both children and adults.
After 25 years of experimentation, the outlook for
antineoplastons in the treatment of cancer has never been brighter. However,
Dr. Burzynski advises that the treatment is still considered experimental, and
that no promises of effectiveness can be made.
All residents of the United States must participate
and be treated under a current FDA-approved clinical trial or Special
Exception. Residents of most other countries must receive FDA permission to ship
antineoplastons to that country. All patients are treated on an outpatient
basis. The treatment is self-administered and normally free of serious side
effects.
Currently there is legislation underway to allow for
choice of therapy in treating ones cancer that resulted from Thomas Navarro
being denied treatment at Burzynski's clinic.\
Side
Effects
The patient brochure from the Burzynski Research
Institute states that the treatment is "non-toxic", but that a
"small percentage of patients had some adverse reaction sometime during
the course of treatment." Side effects cited include "excessive gas
in the stomach, slight skin rash, slightly increased blood pressure, chills and
fever".
However, in other
sources the longer list of the following mild side effects have been noted:
- Anemia (lower than normal number of red blood
cells).
- High blood pressure.
- Dizziness.
- Gas.
- Fever and chills.
- Feeling very tired.
- Headaches.
- Abnormal levels of calcium in the blood.
- Dry or itchy skin rash.
- Nausea and vomiting.
- Numbness.
- Irregular heartbeat.
- Swelling caused by excess fluid in body tissues.
- Swelling, pain, or stiffness in small joints.
Serious nervous
system side effects included the following:
- Extreme sleepiness.
- Confusion.
- Seizures.
- Swelling near the brain.
Summary
Despite a substantial number of preliminary clinical
studies presented by Burzynski and his associates describing outcomes among the
patients he treated with Antineoplastons, and an attempt at a "best
case" review, there is still a lack of valid information to judge whether
this treatment is likely to be beneficial to cancer patients. Thus far,
prospective, controlled clinical studies of Antineoplastons, which could yield
valid information on efficacy, have not been conducted.
Sources
and Additional Information:
