What are Antineoplastons?

Antineoplastons are compounds found in human blood and urine, which were proposed as an alternative cancer treatment in 1976 by Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski. Research on these compounds has not supported the theory that they are an effective cancer treatment and they have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of any disease. In addition, organizations such as the American Cancer Society strongly recommend against pursuing therapy with antineoplastons.

Burzynski claimed that cancer patients had lower concentrations of these peptides, amino acids, and other organic compounds in their blood. He theorized that this limited the body's ability to effectively fight cancer and proposed introducing antineoplastons to the body in order to boost levels. The compounds are produced synthetically in a lab environment and can be injected or taken orally.

Because antineoplastons are not approved for cancer therapy, they can only be offered in the context of a clinical trial. Patients are eligible for a clinical trial if another line of cancer therapy has failed. They are obliged to pay for the antineoplastons and doctor's visits needed to administer the compounds and monitor the patient. Insurance companies typically do not cover this treatment because it is unproved and experimental.

Burzynski's clinic has reported success with antineoplastons in cancer treatment. However, other clinical trials have not supported his findings. Patients in some trials were forced to discontinue treatment because of harmful side effects. It is difficult to extract meaningful results from the trials at Burzynski's clinic because patients may also receive adjuvant therapy, such as chemotherapy and radiation. This makes it challenging to determine whether shrinking tumors were the result of the antineoplastons or the other medications.

Side effects from antineoplastons can include electrolyte imbalances, along with complications from tumors that continue to grow despite treatment. Patients can also experience fever, confusion, seizures, chills, nausea, and vomiting while undergoing this therapy. People taking antineoplastons must be monitored for rising blood sodium levels, a common and potentially dangerous side effect.

Cancer patients have a number of treatment options, including clinical trials for medications in development. When people are diagnosed with cancer, it is helpful to seek out a second opinion and to discuss all treatment options. Patients should make an informed decision on the basis of available information. Patients considering alternative or experimental therapies may want to do some research to learn more about those therapies and their developers to determine whether or not the therapy is likely to be effective.