Krebiozen

Krebiozen (aka Carcalon, substance X, drug X, or creatine monohydrate [http://www.chemindustry.com/chemicals/466897.html krebiozen, CAS Number: 60-27-5 ] ] ) is an alternative treatment marketed as a cure for cancer. Current medical consensus is that it has no therapeutic value.

It is claimedwho that Krebiozen, originally called substance X, came from horses inoculated with "Actinomyces bovis" by Dr. Stevan Durovic. Durovic claimed that Krebiozen had been useful in the treatment of spontaneous cancer, mainly in cats and dogs.

Durovic met Andrew Conway Ivy in 1949 and told him about 'substance X'. The idea resonated with Ivy's ideas on how chemicals might control cell growth.cite web | url = http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/Cancer/krebiozen.html | title = The Krebiozen Story |publisher = Quackwatch | last = Holland | first = James | date = 1966-10-07 | accessdate= 2008-10-09] Dr Ivy took the drug himself and then administered it to a colleague, then to a dog and eventually started trials on patients. He became convinced that the drug could cure cancer.cite web | url = http://www.bccancer.bc.ca/PPI/UnconventionalTherapies/Krebiozen.htm |title = Krebiozen | publisher = British Columbia Cancer Agency | date = February 2000 | accessdate = 2008-10-09]

Dr Ivy announced the trial results in 1951 at a press conference at the Drake Hotel, Chicago, to an audience of journalists, politicians, doctors and potential investors. Of the 22 patients in the trial, 14 were listed as alive and none as having died of cancer. In fact, ten patients had died of cancer at the time of the trial, and none from other causes. Shortly after, the Krebiozen Research Foundation was established by the Durovic brothers, with Dr Ivy as president.

Ten hospitals and cancer research centers followed up on the trial, and observed no effect of Krebiozen on cancer. A compilation of the multi-institutional negative data was reported in the "Journal of the American Medical Association" in 1951. Krebiozen's backers claimed a conspiracy against the drug. In 1959 Dr Ivy produced his own version of the drug under the name Carcalon.

A group marketing Krebiozen claimed objective improvement, with a decrease in tumor size of 61% of brain and spinal cord tumors, a 70% decrease of metastases to the brain, and a 48% decrease of breast cancers. The report, however, was disproven by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the National Cancer Institute. Samples of Krebiozen were provided on two occasions to the National Cancer Institute, and on one occasion to the FDA in the form of dry powder. All three samples proved to be simply creatine monohydrate, sometimes dissolved in mineral oil.cite web | url = http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_Krebiozen.asp?sitearea=ETO |title = Krebiozen | publisher = American Cancer Society | date = 2007-07-20| accessdate = 2008-10-09] cite news| publisher = "Time"| url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,896964,00.html |title = Krebiozen Analyzed | date = 1963-09-13 | accessdate = 2008-10-09]

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.cite news | publisher= "Time" | url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,842474,00.html | title = The Krebiozen Verdict | date = 1966-11-02 | accessdate = 2008-10-09]

References

External links

* [http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_Krebiozen.asp?sitearea=ETO Information on Krebiozen] from the American Cancer Society
* [http://www.bccancer.bc.ca/PPI/UnconventionalTherapies/Krebiozen.htm Information on Krebiozen] from the British Columbia Cancer Agency
* [http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/Cancer/krebiozen.html The Krebiozen Story] , from Quackwatch