The Burzynski Clinic was founded in 1976, and, according to the current Wikipedia entry, offers unproven cancer treatments to patients. The blogger Rhys Morgan faced legal threats after he published a post criticizing its methods. Andy Lewis, from the Quackometer, has also subjected the clinic to sceptical scrutiny.
On tonight’s Panorama, it was explained that Burzynski believes that treatments based on substances found naturally inside our bodies, antineoplastons, can fight off cancer. Results from his clinic, it was reported, have not been published in any form accepted by the scientific community. A patient claimed that there was no proof either way about the treatment, and then moved quickly from saying there was no proof radiotherapy worked either (the presenter, Richard Bilton, seemed rather exasperated by this) to asserting – a very different point – that it hadn’t worked for her.
Bilton explained that he had asked Dr Burzynski to reveal how many patients had been treated and how many had survived. Burzynski said FDA rules prevented him from revealing the results, but Bilton said the FDA denied this. Dr Burzynski came across very badly indeed in this interview, scoffing defensively rather than responding openly to Bilton’s questions.
Finally – a datum. Apparently 776 patients have been treated by the clinic, of whom 15.5% survived more than 5 years. This is, we were told, a slightly better outcome than might have been expected. Of course it is possible this isn’t an either/or scenario. There could still be serious concerns about the way even a treatment with some possible benefits, a treatment which those behind it genuinely believe in, is developed and promoted. Although one would think that, after nearly 40 years of protracted clinical trials, any compelling evidence in the treatment’s favour would have been published in reputed peer reviewed journals.
