Stanislaw Burzynski, a Houston-based internist, believes he can cure cancer better than hospitals, better than specialists, and better than the FDA, USA Today reported. The 70 year-old has been offering private treatment in the form of "antineoplastons" since the 1970s. Over 8,000 patients, according to Burzynski, have taken his drugs.
Working out of his private facility, Burzynski Clinic, the Texas doctor typically offers patients cash deals -- significantly below hospital costs but enough to net Burzynski a sizeable profit -- in exchange for his alternative treatments, according to USA Today's investigative report. In one recent example, which may have led to the FDA's latest investigation, he charged a family $25,000 to treat their six year-old son, who had an inoperable brain tumor. Burzynski told the family he could cure the condition 50 percent of the time, whereas the medical field's best treatments give five percent of all children an additional five years at best, USA Today Reported.
Two months later, the young boy died. The autopsy revealed lethal levels of sodium in his blood, a side effect of antineoplastons doctors have known of for the last twenty years, USA Today reported.
His death has spurred the most recent FDA investigation, which began in 2012 and continues into today. As of July 2012, the FDA has forbidden him to prescribe antineoplastons to children. Eventually, they adjusted that sanction to include new adult patients. As per the FDA, he's failed to report a number of hypernatremia cases (the sodium condition that killed the six year-old boy), inflated success rates, destroyed patients' records, and has committed a host of other infractions. Burzynski and his lawyer denied most of the charges, USA Today reported.
The most recent investigation represents the second reversal by the FDA since 1995, when it filed criminal charges against Burzynski for his use of antineoplastons. A year later, the two parties reached an agreement allowing him to prescribe the alternative drugs in official trials only. The FDA does not approve antineoplastons and Burzyinski has made little effort to verify it in legitimate trials, according to USA Today.
Whether Burzynski represents a "snake oil salesman," according to pediatric oncologist Peter Adamson of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, or a viable alternative to cancer treatments, he has his share of supporters. One woman, who credits the doctor for curing her lymphoma, has testified for him over five times, USA Today reported.
