FDA laboratory analysis of Krebiozen samples found the drug to consist of creatine monohydrate dissolved in mineral oil; some samples contained only mineral oil with no other identifiable ingredient.
The FDA’s 1963 chemical analysis of submitted Krebiozen samples identified the active content as creatine monohydrate in mineral oil, a composition with no established anticancer activity (CA Cancer J Clin 1973, PMID 4196527; Holland, JAMA 1967, PMID 6071435). Some vials analyzed contained only mineral oil. This finding, corroborated by the Mütter Museum’s summary that Krebiozen was “nothing more than mineral oil containing creatine monohydrate,” formed the chemical basis for the 1964 indictment on 49 counts including fraud and mislabeling. The FDA result was the disconfirmatory chemical endpoint of the Krebiozen affair.
Appears in
Sources
- Unproven methods of cancer management. Krebiozen and carcalon — [No authors listed]. "Unproven methods of cancer management. Krebiozen and carcalon." CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. 1973 Mar-Apr;23(2):111–115. PMID 4196527.
- The krebiozen story. Is cancer quackery dead? — Holland JF. "The krebiozen story. Is cancer quackery dead?" JAMA. 1967 Apr 17;200(3):213–218. PMID 6071435.
- Krebiozen: Government Indicts Sponsors of Alleged Cancer Drug; Ivy, Durovic, among Those Named — Langer E. "Krebiozen: Government Indicts Sponsors of Alleged Cancer Drug; Ivy, Durovic, among Those Named." Science. 1964 Dec 4;146(3649):1282–1284. PMID 17810142. DOI 10.1126/science.146.3649.1282.
- Can Krebiozen Treat Cancer? — Schwarcz, Joe. "Can Krebiozen Treat Cancer?" McGill University Office for Science and Society. 20 March 2017. https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/quackery/can-krebiozen-treat-cancer