|
Other common
name(s): biologically guided chemotherapy, Revici cancer
control, lipid therapy, Revici's method
Scientific/medical
name(s): none
Description
Revici's guided chemotherapy is a chemical therapy promoted as
an alternative cancer treatment. The therapy varies for every patient
but can include a chemical formula made of varying amounts of lipid
alcohols, caffeine, zinc, lithium, and iron or a formula that contains
fatty acids, selenium, magnesium, and sulfur. Despite its name,
Revici's guided chemotherapy is entirely different from mainstream
chemotherapy or the new targeted therapies that are an increasingly
important part of standard cancer treatment.
Overview
Available scientific evidence does not support claims that
Revici's guided chemotherapy is effective in treating cancer or any
other disease. It may also cause potentially serious side effects.
How is it promoted for use?
Revici's guided chemotherapy is promoted for the treatment of
various types of cancer, including colon, bone, lung, and brain cancer,
as well as heart disease, arthritis, AIDS, chronic pain, drug
addiction, injury from radiation, and schizophrenia. Emanuel Revici,
MD, the inventor of the therapy, claimed that even advanced cancer
could be treated with his method.
The therapy is based on the theory that cancer and other
diseases result from an imbalance of lipids (fats or fat-like
substances) in the body that is thought to cause abnormal metabolism.
Revici believed that the imbalance led to diseases that could be
classified as either "anabolic" (meaning constructive) or
"catabolic" (meaning destructive).
The type of imbalance was determined mainly by looking a patient's
urine, and from that determination, a lipid-based remedy could be
designed to restore the proper balance.
What does it involve?
Revici's therapy uses urine and blood tests to detect lipid
imbalances. A chemical formula of lipids and lipid-based substances is
then developed that is unique to each patient. The substances may
include alcohols (such as glycerol, butanol, and octanol), sterols
(such as cholesterol and steroid hormones), compounds containing
certain elements (iodine, mercury, lithium, selenium, zinc, iron),
nicotinic acid derivatives, and other substances.
Revici's guided chemotherapy is given by mouth or injection in
dosages tailored to each patient. After the first treatment, patients
are taught to test their urine at home and monitor the lipid imbalance.
If there are changes, the patient is given a new formula. This therapy
is available at a few clinics started by Revici associates.
What is the history behind it?
According to a 1989 review article in CA: A Cancer Journal for
Clinicians, Emanuel Revici was born in Romania in 1896 and
received a medical degree from the University of Bucharest in 1920.
After graduation, he taught internal medicine and practiced in
Bucharest. In the 1920s, he began research into lipids and cellular
metabolism. From 1935 to 1941, he conducted clinical research and
practiced medicine in Paris, and from 1941 to 1946 in Mexico City. He
began experimenting with a variety of drugs and compounds to treat
cancer in 1941.
In 1947, he moved to Brooklyn, New York, and started the
Institute of Applied Biology to conduct research into cancer and other
diseases. In 1955, he moved the Institute to Manhattan along with his
medical practice. According to the information in the CA article, New
York State has challenged Revici's medical license on a number of
occasions since 1983. In 1984, the Board of Regents restricted his
medical practice, and tightened the restrictions 4 years later, when
they found him guilty of professional misconduct. Stephen Barrett and
Victor Herbert, who investigate medical fraud, report that Revici's
license was revoked in 1993.
Revici died in 1998 at the age of 101, but his therapy is
still offered by some of his associates in New York City.
What is the evidence?
Most of the cases Revici treated were not well documented. In
his 1961 book, Revici listed a large number of case histories of
patients whose tumors he claimed had shrunk or disappeared completely.
Some of his patients also testified at a congressional hearing in New
York that Revici's treatment caused their cancer to go into remission.
The only published clinical study of Revici's guided
chemotherapy appeared in the Journal
of the American Medical Association in 1965. It was done
by a group of 9 doctors known as the Clinical Appraisal Group. They
studied 33 cancer patients referred to Revici for treatment after
conventional treatment failed. Twenty-two of the patients died of
cancer while on Revici's therapy, 8 showed no improvement, and the
remaining 3 showed signs of cancer growth. The group concluded that
Revici's method was without value. Revici countered that the original
protocol he had agreed to had not been followed.
Studies of Revici's chemotherapy are hampered by the fact that
each formula is different. According to the 1989 CA review article, a
number of scientists who have offered to evaluate his methods were not
able to reach agreement with Revici about a study protocol. The same
article reports that, in 1945, a group of American doctors studied
Revici's treatment methods in Mexico and found no positive evidence to
support their value in treating cancer. In 1988, the American Cancer
Society requested that Revici provide documentation of his work, but
never received a reply.
Are there any possible problems or
complications?
These
substances may have not been thoroughly tested to find out how they
interact with medicines, foods, or dietary supplements. Even though
some reports of interactions and harmful effects may be published, full
studies of interactions and effects are not often available. Because of
these limitations, any information on ill effects and interactions
below should be considered incomplete.
Revici's guided chemotherapy for cancer has never been proven
to be safe or effective. Revici himself said that his treatment might
cause the area around a cancerous tumor to become inflamed and the
tumor itself to grow larger and more painful before it shrank or
disappeared. Selenium compounds, which are sometimes used in this
therapy, can be toxic at high doses (see also Selenium).
This treatment should be avoided by women who are pregnant or
breast-feeding. Relying on this type of treatment alone and avoiding or
delaying conventional medical care for cancer, may have serious health
consequences.
Additional Resources
More information from your American Cancer
Society
The following information on complementary and alternative
therapies may also be helpful to you. These materials may be found on
our Web site (www.cancer.org)
or ordered from our toll-free number (1-800-ACS-2345).
References
Alternative Medicine: Expanding Medical Horizons. A Report to
the National Institutes of Health on Alternative Medical Systems and
Practices in the United States. Washington, DC: US Government Printing
Office; 1994. NIH publication 94-066.
American Cancer Society. Unproven methods of cancer
management: Revici method. CA Cancer
J Clin. 1989;39:119-122.
Lyall D, Schwartz M, Herter FP, et al. Treatment of cancer by
the method of Revici. JAMA.
1965;194:279-280.
Barrett S, Herbert V. Questionable cancer therapies. Accessed
at: http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/cancer.html on
June 11, 2008.
Revici E. Research
in Physiopathology as a Basis of Guided Chemotherapy with Special
Application to Cancer. Princeton, NJ: D Van Nostrand, Inc:
1961.
University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Revici Guided
Chemotherapy: Detailed Scientific Review. 2007. Accessed at:
www.mdanderson.org/departments/cimer/display.cfm?id=DDB1CCA0-1711-11D5-811000508B603A14&method=displayFull&pn=6EB86A59-EBD9-11D4-810100508B603A14
on June 11, 2008.
US Congress, Office of Technology Assessment. Unconventional
Cancer Treatments. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office; 1990.
Publication OTA-H-405.
Note:
This
information may not cover all possible claims, uses, actions,
precautions, side effects or interactions. It is not intended as
medical advice, and should not be relied upon as a substitute for
consultation with your doctor, who is familiar with your medical
situation.
Last Medical Review: 11/01/2008
Last Revised: 11/01/2008
|
