The Burzynski Clinic, according to its website, designs cancer treatment around the patient’s specific needs, using selected medications.  The clinic does not believe in a “one-size-fits-all” approach to cancer treatments.  Rather, the Burzynski Clinic believes that every patient requires a unique treatment plan.

The stories of the clinic’s successes are remarkable.  A child comes in with a brain tumor and a poor prognosis at age 2.  Now, he is 21 and planning his wedding.  A retired Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel is given three to six months to live.  Now, eight years later, he is tumor-free after treatment at the clinic.  Shortly before her first birthday, a young girl’s parents are told she has a brain tumor and will likely not live to see her second birthday.  She is now 17.

Reading those stories seems like the Burzynski Clinic is doing the impossible and providing miracles to people with nowhere else to turn.  However, experts do not view Dr. Burzynski, who founded the clinic and designed its treatments.  According to USA Today, the National Cancer Institute says there is no evidence that Burzynski has cured a single patient, or even helped one live longer. He has not backed up his claims by publishing results from a randomized, controlled trial, a necessity for medical evidence to be accepted, in a respected, peer-reviewed journal.

Burzynski, 70, calls his drugs “antineoplastons” and says he has given them to more than 8,000 patients since 1977.  Burzynski is an internist with no board certification or formal training in oncology.  However, he has said publicly that he can cure half of the estimated 200 children a year diagnosed with brainstem tumors.  Other oncologists and medical practitioners share the views of the National Cancer Institute.  They believe Burzynski is a quack and an opportunist, preying on desperate people.

In the past, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) tried to prevent Burzynski from prescribing unapproved drugs.  In 1995, a federal grand jury indicted Burzynski on 75 felony charges, including criminal contempt, mail fraud and violations of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. As a condition of his bail, a judge ordered him to stop prescribing antineoplastons. The indictments led to two trials. In 1997, one of Burzynski’s criminal trials ended in a hung jury; the other, an acquittal.

Dozens of Burzynski’s patients flocked to Washington to defend him, arguing that taking away antineoplastons was akin to a death sentence. A former patient who credits Burzynski with curing her lymphoma 22 years ago, has testified on his behalf five times.  Now, the FDA refuses to comment on Burzynski.