you mean Laetrile, or Amygdalin? The same compound that was used to treat Steve McQueen in Mexico to no effect, and has been proven over and over to offer no clinical benefit? The one mocked in the graphic novel Watcmen?It's not a hoax. It's the real deal: it's really no better than nothing at all.Weird medical history, ripped from the archives of Doonesbury via Maggie Koerth-BakerThe durability of "skeptics" claiming that Laetrile is their only hope seems to keep it relevant and recurring, and it seems the last "Laetrile Clinic was closed just last year (in 2013). This, despite an orgy of evidence that it provides absolutely no benefit: The Rise and Fall of Laetrile, A clinical trial of amygdalin (Laetrile) in the... [N Engl J Med. 1982]. Bad medicine is a cancer that, like real cancer, never seems to be completely curable.As for the reported side effects: cyanide poisoning. Need more be said? Yes, there are some very potent poisons that are used in chemotherapy, but when given to cancer patients these are ALL backed with clinical trials showing their effectiveness in treating the underlying condition, while Laetrile has not been shown to provide any benefit.
Vitamin B17 is not actually a vitamin. Vitamins are essential for human health. B17 is a poison also known as amygdalin as well as laetrile. Amygdalin is broken down into cyanide, which is an incredibly toxic substance. There is zero reason to use it to treat cancer. There is no scientific evidence is works. It’s one of the clearest cases of snake oil medicine./d...What would you say about laetrile/Vitamin B17 as an alternative cancer treatment? What are the most important things to consider?The most important thing to consider is that Amygdalin, also known as laetrile or Vitamin B17, does not work as a cancer treatment and can potentially kill you if taken orally because it is metabolized to cyanide.Whoever suggested you taking it is a quack and you should go see a real oncologist.I find it hard to believe that this myth persists. There is no "Vitamin B-17" in existence, that is just a marketing tool that was used in an attempt to circumvent FDA regulations. It failed, which is why you can only get this treatment outside of the USA, in unregulated clinics that will suck your money at the expense of your life.
The science behind amygdalin or the synthetic version called Laetrile is sketchy at best. This one-time meat tenderizer had been through a range of potential uses before it landed as a "cancer cure" long ago, and then it was quickly debunked. Every few years someone seems to try raising it from the ashes again, but science has consistently shown that it does not work to fight cancer. The argument is that because it is "natural" the pharma industry wants to squash it, but the fact is that Laetrile is a patented synthetic version of the chemical and is therefore no different than anything that Big Pharma would present in that regard, meaning if it actually worked, someone would be making huge amounts of money off of it. As it is, the purveyors of Laetrile are making huge amounts of money off of it, but only by marketing it to very gullible, desperate and ignorant people. It is a sad case of snake oil being sold effectively. Don't buy the hype.I am afraid no, the so called laetrile, amigdaline or vitamin B 17 has long been claimed to be helpful in cancer treatment but it has never been proven.
The alleged effect is supposed to be produced by the fact that it contains cyanide but it is not toxic while within the compound, but if it could be released in tissues with high metabolic rate like cancer cells it can destroy them selectively. Unfortunately it never worked in practice.It was first experimented by former Soviet Union scientist in the 50’s of the 20th century and abandoned. The interest re-emerged in USA after Erns T. Krebs patented a method to synthesize a simplified version of the compound and started promoting it as treatment for cancer,it was utilized in many patients off-code until the FDA banned it. The interest was kept alive by a 1974 book from G. Edward Griffin that allegedly discloses a conspiracy theory against laetrile, this author is a sensationalist journalist most recently known for been a HIV denialist.The propaganda led to the foundation of many illegal clinics in Mexico near the US border for the treatment of wealthy people who wanted to experiment with that drug.
Sources from those clinics informally report great successes with it use but no substantial data has ever been produced A certain Mexican doctor who alleged to have over 20 000 successful cases when approached by researchers he only gave information of about 20 patients, most of them had relapsed and only three were considered in remission, strangely those in remission couldn’t be traced.A systematic review that included all reports available through 2005 concluded that the claim that laetrile has beneficial effects for cancer patients is not supported by sound clinical data.Vitamins In FoodVitamins For CancerCancer VitaminVitamin B17B17 CancerKills CancerAnti CancerCancer CuresFight CancerForwardVitamin B17 is a cure for cancer! Also called Laetrile, it is found in apricot seeds, grape seeds, raspberry seeds, strawberry seeds, flax seeds and other grains sprouts and legumes.So, you’ve heard of B6, B12, and even B-complex vitamins, but likely not vitamin B17. This powerful vitamin substance shown to halt cancer has also been called poison.
So which is it: a natural treatment, or ‘quackery’? Vitamin B17 is patented in the U.S. as Laetrile, but used in Mexico simply as crushed apricot pits, without boiling the seeds and turning them to ethanol, which then produces benzaldehyde. You can also find the tampered-with version as laevomandelonitrile, the man-made version of B17, and amygdalin, the natural version of B17. According to the National Cancer Society, Laetrile is staggeringly lethal, and even makes cancer tumors grow larger. The US government has made B17 downright illegal, so why are many naturalists saying apricot seeds, which are naturally full of vitamin B17, are extremely effective at curing cancer? And how can something be toxic, if it naturally occurs in dozens of other foods like soybeans, mung bean sprouts, hundreds of vegetables, wild-berries, Oregon grapes, and cassava, a tropical sweet potato? Further commentary from the Mayo clinic suggests that B17 poses toxicity risks due to ‘significant levels of cyanide in the blood of patients.”
They also claimed that there was no scientific basis for Vitamin B17 to treat cancer. So what’s the story? Are we to trust large hospitals or special interest organizations backed by Big Pharma or research like this: For five years, between 1972 and 1977 laetrile was meticulously tested at Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research in Manhattan under the direction of Dr. Sugiura. At the conclusion of his experiment he reported five results: Furthermore, the efficacy of B17 for cancer prevention has been called a down-right cover up: “Ralph W. Moss gives an excellent overview of the political and scientific controversy that has surrounded laetrile in his book The Cancer Industry. He states, ‘Although spokespersons for orthodox medicine continue to deny that there have been any animal study data in favor of laetrile, this is contradicted by a number of studies, including—but not limited to—those at Sloan-Kettering.'” Other supporters of B17 who continued the research started by Sloan-Kettering say Vitamin B17 is definitely a cancer-treatment and preventative.