The drug Laetrile for Therapy
Starting with defining laetrile as stated by Kovacs, it also referred to amygdalin, it is an extract of apricot seed, almond seed, and apples among other kinds of fruits (Kovacs, 2014). In the 1920s dr. Ernst T. Krebs developed a theory that amygdalin would eliminate cancer cells. However, the theory was incompatible with the available biochemical facts and oncology facts. According to Wilson, the first product which was thought to kill the cancer cells was tested in early 1920 through oral ingestion. It was found to be very toxic since the intestinal bacteria would convert the amygdalin to cyanide, which is a toxic substance for living tissues. Later on, in the early 1950s, the formulation was changed and improved to what was thought to be safer formulation. However, different scientific chemical analysis showed that it still had high levels of amygdalin in the new formulation (Wilson, 2014).
The mechanism of action that the inventors and proprietors of this compound and therapy used to define action was all …show more content…
It was a long, tedious way of approach, but still didn’t come with anti-cancer effects provided by the amygdalin use. They identified that it was hard through the retrospective analysis to illustrate the therapeutic efficacy without a properly designed trial model. Thus, the NCI designed a trial to be conducted using human patients in four different cancer centers upon approval by the food and drug authority. The FDA gave the NCI an investigational new drug (IND) status, to investigate the toxicity, the antitumor effect, and the ability to reduce the cancer symptoms. Different models were developed to investigate each of the above-stipulated objectives in a more precise and accurate way (Wilson,
Starting with defining laetrile as stated by Kovacs, it also referred to amygdalin, it is an extract of apricot seed, almond seed, and apples among other kinds of fruits (Kovacs, 2014). In the 1920s dr. Ernst T. Krebs developed a theory that amygdalin would eliminate cancer cells. However, the theory was incompatible with the available biochemical facts and oncology facts. According to Wilson, the first product which was thought to kill the cancer cells was tested in early 1920 through oral ingestion. It was found to be very toxic since the intestinal bacteria would convert the amygdalin to cyanide, which is a toxic substance for living tissues. Later on, in the early 1950s, the formulation was changed and improved to what was thought to be safer formulation. However, different scientific chemical analysis showed that it still had high levels of amygdalin in the new formulation (Wilson, 2014).
The mechanism of action that the inventors and proprietors of this compound and therapy used to define action was all …show more content…
It was a long, tedious way of approach, but still didn’t come with anti-cancer effects provided by the amygdalin use. They identified that it was hard through the retrospective analysis to illustrate the therapeutic efficacy without a properly designed trial model. Thus, the NCI designed a trial to be conducted using human patients in four different cancer centers upon approval by the food and drug authority. The FDA gave the NCI an investigational new drug (IND) status, to investigate the toxicity, the antitumor effect, and the ability to reduce the cancer symptoms. Different models were developed to investigate each of the above-stipulated objectives in a more precise and accurate way (Wilson,