Laetrile, American Academy of Family Physicians:"Scientific evidence has shown that Laetrile has no place in a treatment regimen for cancer patients. (1977) (1996) (2002)."
Director Online Content Management, American Academy of Family Physicians
11400 Tomahawk Creek Parkway Leawood, KS 66211-2672
E-mail: email@familydoctor.org
http://www.aafp.org/x1553.xml

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Laetrile, Overview, American Cancer Society:"There is no scientific evidence that Laetrile is effective in treating cancer or any other disease. It contains a small percentage of cyanide and several cases of cyanide poisoning have been linked to its use. The FDA has not issued approval for Laetrile as a medical treatment and its use is illegal in the United States. How is it promoted for use? Laetrile was once called "the perfect chemotherapeutic agent" since it was alleged to selectively kill cancer cells while being non-toxic to normal cells. Promoters claim that societies with diets rich in Laetrile, such as the Hunza and the Karakorum, are "cancer-free peoples." Supporters also say that Laetrile can prevent cancer from occurring and can help patients stay in remission. It is also promoted to provide pain relief to people with cancer. Other reported uses for Laetrile have been in the prevention and treatment of high blood pressure and arthritis. There are two proposed explanations for Laetrile's use. Proponents claim that cancer cells trigger the release of the cyanide found in Laetrile, causing the death of the cancer cells due to cyanide poisoning. The second theory proposed for Laetrile's effectiveness is that cancer is really a "vitamin deficiency" and that Laetrile is the missing "vitamin B17." There is no scientific evidence to support these claims."
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_Laetrile.asp?sitearea=ETO

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Why don't you tell people about laetrile? CancerHelp UK:"We have had a few emails lately from people asking why information on laetrile (amygdalin or 'vitamin B17' as it is also called) is being suppressed. According to claims made on the Internet, this substance found in apricot pips is a highly active compound that can cure cancer. Unfortunately this is simply not true. The whole reason for the existence of Cancer Research UK is to find cures for cancers. If simply eating apricot seeds could cure cancer, no one would be more delighted than us."
CancerHelp UK, Institute for Cancer Studies:
The University of Birmingham
Edgbaston BIRMINGHAM B15 2TA UK
Email (CancerHelp UK secretary): HayleyLW@cancer.bham.ac.uk
http://www.cancerhelp.org.uk/help/default.asp?page=2568

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Laetrile, General Information, National Cancer Institute:"The term “laetrile” is an acronym (laevorotatory and mandelonitrile) used to describe a purified form of the chemical amygdalin, a cyanogenic glucoside (a plant compound that contains sugar and produces cyanide) found in the pits of many fruits and raw nuts and in other plants, such as lima beans, clover, and sorghum. Reviewed in [1-6] In the 1970s, laetrile gained popularity as an anticancer agent. By 1978, more than 70,000 individuals in the United States were reported to have been treated with it. Reviewed in [2,7,8] Laetrile has been used for cancer treatment both as a single agent and in combination with a metabolic therapy program that consists of a specialized diet, high-dose vitamin supplements, and pancreatic enzymes.[9] Reviewed in [10] In the United States, researchers must file an Investigational New Drug (IND) application with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to conduct drug research in human subjects. In 1970, an application for an IND to study laetrile was filed by the McNaughton Foundation (San Ysidro, California). This request was initially approved but later rejected because preclinical evidence in animals showed that laetrile was not likely to be effective as an anticancer agent, Reviewed in [3,11,12] and because there were questions about how the proposed study was to be conducted. Reviewed in [13] Laetrile supporters viewed this reversal as an attempt by the U.S. government to block access to new and promising cancer therapies, and pressure mounted to make laetrile available to the public. Court cases in Oklahoma, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and California challenged the FDA’s role in determining which drugs should be available to cancer patients. Consequently, laetrile was legalized in more than 20 states during the 1970s. In 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned decisions by the lower courts, thereby re-affirming the FDA’s position that drugs must be proven to be both safe and effective before widespread public use. Reviewed in [2,14] As a result, the use of laetrile as a cancer therapy or as a treatment for any other medical condition is not approved in the United States, but the compound continues to be manufactured and administered as an anticancer therapy, primarily in Mexico."
http://www.cancer.gov/cancerinfo/pdq/cam/laetrile

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A clinical trial of amygdalin (Laetrile) in the treatment of human cancer, Pubmed:"One hundred seventy-eight patients with cancer were treated with amygdalin (Laetrile) plus a "metabolic therapy" program consisting of diet, enzymes, and vitamins. The great majority of these patients were in good general condition before treatment. None was totally disabled or in preterminal condition. One third had not received any previous chemotherapy. The pharmaceutical preparations of amygdalin, the dosage, and the schedule were representative of past and present Laetrile practice. No substantive benefit was observed in terms of cure, improvement or stabilization of cancer, improvement of symptoms related to cancer, or extension of life span. The hazards of amygdalin therapy were evidenced in several patients by symptoms of cyanide toxicity or by blood cyanide levels approaching the lethal range."
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=7033783&dopt=Abstract

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Online Laetrile Vendor Ordered to Shut Down, Carol Lewis, quackwatch.com:"Cyberspace vendors beware: sell illicit drugs online and be prepared to be shut down. And shut down he was, when drug supplier Jason Vale used the Internet to promote the sale of a false cancer cure. President of Christian Brothers Contracting Corporation based in Queens, N.Y., Vale signed a consent decree of permanent injunction on Nov. 16, 2000, agreeing to stop making and selling amygdalin products, better known as laetrile, vitamin B-17, and apricot kernels. Despite warnings from the Food and Drug Administration, Vale, who operated several Web sites out of the basement of his home, promoted and dispensed these products with false promises that they could prevent, and even cure, cancer. The consent decree, which resulted from inspections of Vale's home office and several undercover purchases, ensures that the drug supplier keeps his commitment to FDA and never sells laetrile again."
http://www.quackwatch.org/02ConsumerProtection/FDAActions/vale.html

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