A new type of cancer drug,
3-Bromopyruvate (3BP), triggered deaths of three patients who were undergoing
an alternative cancer treatment. The probable reason being the drug was not
tested in clinical trials. This drug 3BP, according to researchers, is a
potential breakthrough and many scientists says that the drug should not be
given to patients without carefully controlled experimental settings. Media
reports propose that cancer patients asked help from an alternative practitioner
Klaus Ross from Germany to avoid aggressive chemotherapy. He offered
"basic therapy" against cancer for $11,057. Ross promoted 3BP as the
best compound to treat tumors on his website. The investigation has reinforced
suspicions that the dead three patients received the drug, the prosecutor said
in its press release. Ross responded to a statement in his website, saying that
he is in shock and regrets the impression created in media that alternative
medicine might be responsible for the death of patients.
3BP was first studied as an anti-cancer
agent by biochemists Young Hee Ko, Peter Pedersen and Jeff Geschwind. 3BP kills
specific cancer cells by not affecting normal cells because they depend more on
glucose metabolism as compared to an alternative pathway called oxidative
phosphorylation. This drug reduced the growth of tumors in studies on rats and
mice. Experiments on human cancer cell lines exposed that combining 3BP with
chemotherapeutic increased its effectiveness. But, animal studies showed clear
toxicity with particular management rules. A 16-year-old boy suffering from
liver cancer called fibrolamellar hepatocellular was treated with 3BP in an experiment
conducted by researchers.
Scientists concluded that no major dreadful effects
were observed, and the patient survived for a longer period than expected along
with improved quality of life, which can be attributed to the treatment with
3BP. Another case reports that Egyptian
Oncologists treated a 28-year-old man with 3BP and the drug appeared safe, but
it is not very effective when used alone. 3BP has to go through formal
clinical trials, and the trial has to start because the company needs partners
to finance it. Unformulated 3BP may be harmful in some cases, and systematic
infusions should not be performed by doctors in which the compound circulates
to the whole body. Government should regulate practitioners of alternative
medicine for strictly, so that creativity in therapy should not affect patent’s
safety negatively.
I found this article interesting because the anti-cancer drug, 3BP combined with chemotherapeutic can be used for treating cancer based diseases. It can extend lives of people suffering from cancer, and is a hope of cure for cancer patients. The good thing about 3BP is that it only affects the tumor cells not the normal cells. However, proper infusion of 3BP by the doctors and controlled clinical trials should be performed before giving this drug to patients, so it doesnot negatively impact on the patient's health as explained in the article.
I found this article interesting because the anti-cancer drug, 3BP combined with chemotherapeutic can be used for treating cancer based diseases. It can extend lives of people suffering from cancer, and is a hope of cure for cancer patients. The good thing about 3BP is that it only affects the tumor cells not the normal cells. However, proper infusion of 3BP by the doctors and controlled clinical trials should be performed before giving this drug to patients, so it doesnot negatively impact on the patient's health as explained in the article.
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/08/candidate-cancer-drug-suspected-after-death-three-patients-alternative-medicine-clinic
https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/3-bromopyruvate-the-latest-cancer-cure-they-dont-want-you-to-know-about/
https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/3-bromopyruvate-the-latest-cancer-cure-they-dont-want-you-to-know-about/
It's always nice to see a new discovery that can battle cancer cells. It is a shame however that these victims rushed to get a treatment that hasn't been researched enough to be completely safe. It said that these people chose this treatment as an alternative for chemotherapy, but I wonder if they would have survived if they had chosen to partake in the chemotherapy alongside the 3BP as suggested by the current research.
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