FDA to let 8 cancer patients try controversial drug
Doctor’s claims met with skepticism
The Food and Drug Administration has agreed to allow a handful of cancer patients to receive unapproved drugs from a controversial Texas doctor, but only if they can find another physician to administer them.
The drugs are made by Hous- ton doctor Stanislaw Burzynski, who was the subject of a USA TODAY investigation last year. While his supporters consider him a medical maverick, mainstream doctors view him as a snake-oil salesman.
Burzynski has claimed for more than 36 years to be able to cure certain hard-to-treat brain tumors with drugs he calls antineoplastons. The National Cancer Institute notes that Burzynski has never published definitive evidence that his drugs cure cancer or even help people live longer.
Burzynski has been unable to give these drugs since 2013, when the FDA placed his experiments on hold after the death of a 6year-old New Jersey boy taking antineoplastons. In December, the FDA sent him a warning letter, noting that he inflated success rates and failed to report side effects and to prevent patients from overdosing. The Texas Medical Board also charged the doctor with false advertising.
None of that has deterred eight families whose loved ones have incurable brain tumors and who would like to try Burzynski’s patented therapy. Those families in- clude the parents of McKenzie Lowe, 12, of New Hampshire; the parents of Refael Elisha Cohen, 6, of Texas, who is in a coma; and Liza Cozad-Lauser, 47, of California. All contacted the FDA to ask for “compassionate use” of the drug.
The FDA said Friday that it has agreed to allow them to use the drug, but only if they can find a qualified, independent physician to administer it.
Though Burzynski declined to comment, his attorney, Richard Jaffe, said the doctor will supply antineoplastons for free.