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TherapyThe first mention of the Koch Antitoxins
was made in an article by William F. Koch,Ph.D., M.D., in Detroit Medicat Jourimat, July,1919. As subsequently developed, the Kochtreatment is said to be based on a belief thatcancer is a protective response to a toxicproduct generated within the body, and thatthis product must be oxidized before recoveryis possible. The Koch method uses a cleansingregimen by diet, combined with the three KochAntitoxins: Glyoxylide, Malonide and Benzoquinone (BQ).
The chief therapy for cancer recommendedby Dr. Koch is Glyoxylide, administered by injection in a solution said to contain one partof “¿�partially oxidized inositol― to a trillionparts of distilled water. The other two Antitoxins, 1:4 Benzoquinone and Malonide,Ketene Solution, are said to be effective inallergies, infections, and cancer. Dr. Kochclaims that all three act as catalysts to encourage the destruction of the toxins whichhe holds responsible for the growth of cancertissue. They are administered in combinationwith a strict diet, combined with high enemas.
ProponentsOriginally, the sole owner and manufacturer
of the Koch Antitoxins was the Koch Laboratories, Inc., organized about 1926 by threeKoch brothers (William, Fred and Louis) anda Clarence Lehr. At that time, the Koch Antitoxins were distributed only to members ofthe Koch Cancer Foundation, also founded in1926 by a group of seven medical doctors,most of whom had been associated previouslywith the use of other unproven method3 oftreatment. Price per treatment to stockholders or members of the Foundation was $110,and the Foundation specified to members, as aminimum charge, $300 for the first treatmentand $200 for each treatment thereafter.
Members of the Koch Cancer Foundationadvertised widely and lectured before suchorganizations as the “¿�AmericanAssociationfor the Study and Cure of Cancer,―and “¿�TheAnti-Cancer Center of the District of Columbia.―The Foundation published two journals.
In August 1948, following a government inspection of his laboratories in Detroit, Dr.Koch announced he was going out of business.The Koch Laboratories were dissolved, and Dr.Koch moved to Brazil where he has lived eversince. In October of that year, however, Carbonyls, Inc. was organized, and distributed theKoch Antitoxins until the Christian MedicalResearch League (Detroit, Michigan) was incorporated as a nonprofit institution inNovember 1948, and became the distributor of
the Koch preparations. This organization wasreported to have discontinued operations as ofSeptember 1958. The Koch Antitoxins are stillbeing distributed, but the present source isnot known.
InvestigationsIn May 1926, The Joursmat of the American
Medicat Associatiomi (“Koch's ‘¿�CancerAntitoxin,'― J.A.M.A. 86: 1469-1472, 1926) reported that in the seven years that had passedsince Dr. Koch announced his discovery, “¿�theWayne County (Detroit) Medical Society hasappointed three committees to investigateKoch's ‘¿�cure.'Each of the three reports hasbeen unfavorable. The last report closed withthe statement: ‘¿�Inno instance have we founda case where the diagnosis of cancer was absolutely established and where no other formof treatment had been used in which a cure orany decided benefit had been obtained.'―
In 1942, the Food and Drug Administrationinstituted action against Dr. Koch and hisbrother, Louis, for shipping the misbrandedKoch Synthetic Antitoxins in interstate commerce, and the Federal Trade Commissionopened an investigation of false claims madein advertising. The Food and Drug Administration case went to trial in January 1943.After four and a half months of testimony,during which 43 government witnesses, including some of the leading medical scientistsin the country, testified that the Koch substances were not efficacious in the cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of cancer andother diseases, the trial resulted in a hungjury. A second trial which ran for five monthsin 1946 ended in a mistrial when a juror became ill. In 1948 the indictment was droppedafter the Kochs changed the label on theirpro(Iuct so that it no longer claimed a cure.The Christian Medical Research League.which took over the manufacture and distribution of the Koch Antitoxins in December1948, distributed them as prescription drugs.
The Federal Trade Commission investigation resulted in an order, issued in 1951. whichforbids statements that any of the Koch Antitoxins “¿�possesstherapeutic value or that theiruse will be of benefit in the treatment of anydisease of the human body or in animals.― Dr.William F. Koch and Louis G. Koch, as President and Secretary-Treasurer, respectively, ofthe Koch Laboratories, Inc., petitioned theUnited States Sixth Circuit Court of Appealsto review the Cease and Desist Order of theFederal Trade Commission. On July 8, 1953,this Court issued a decision affirming the orderof the Commission and ordering the petitioners to obey it. The decision also stated that
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Unproven Methods of Cancer TreatmentTime following statement concerning the Koch Antitoxins, Gtyoxylide, Malonide and
Benzoquimmomie, proposed fom' the treatment of cancem by Wittiam F. Koch, Ph.D., M.D., wasrecemitly distributed to the 59 Divisions of the American Cancer Society for their information.
KochAntitoxins
“¿�therecord as a whole supports the findingsof the Commission that the representationswere misleading and false in material matters,that the pro(lucts have no therapeutic valueand that advertisements were sent both tomembers of the medical profession and to laypersons.― (20fi F2d 311 (CA. 6. 1953)).
In 1943, a report by the Canadian CancerCommission stated that while they had beenunsuccessful in obtaining samples of Koch's(;l@-oxylide for laboratory work, they did receive enough material to use in a clinical trialof nine patients with positive biopsies for
cancer. All the patients (lied within a periodnormally expected. The report of the Coinmission concluded: “¿�Acareful review of allof the evidence presented at this (late failsutterly, in the opinion of the commission. tosuppmmrt the claims made on behalf of the Koch
To ThE EDITOR:The condensation of the article “¿�Sur
vival Aftei- Surgical Ti-eatment of Carcinoma of the Stomach― [Ca 14: 116-118, 1964 , really made it a better article than the original one. I am veryhappy and pleased that you selected itfor publication and appreciate it verymuch.
To TIlE EDITOR:
tieatnient that it is either a remedy or a curefor cancer.―
Further information on the Koch Antitoxins is contained in many articles which haveappea red in Th(' .Jomtm-mmat of the A mnemicamlMedical .4.s-.s-oeiatiomm, beginning in 1926, ofwhich the following are of note:
“¿�The‘¿�Glyoxylide' of William F. Koch.―Report of the Bureau of Investigation.J.A.M.A. 107: 519, 1936.“¿�Cancerand the Need for Facts.― Report of the Council on Pharmacy andChemistry. J.A.M.A. 139: 93-98, 1949.
Aftcr careful study of the literature andother information available to it, the American Cancer Society has found no evidence thattreatment with the Koch Antitoxins results inany objective benefit in the treatment of cancer in human beings.
128, 1964]. My compliments to them,and to Ca, for its publication.
L. H. GARLAND, M.D.San Francisco, California
To THE EDITOR:
In the “¿�Lookingat Cancer― article inthe May-June issue of Ca [14: 119-120,1964: p. 120], while discussing an excellent article by M. B. Goldgraber and
J. B. Kirsner [Cancer 17: 657-665.1964], I am afraid my comment on theirstand in regard to surgery for ulcerative colitis was misleading. Althoughthey regard total colectomy as an excellent operation for certain specific indications, they do not feel that all patients with symptoms over 10 years'duration will necessarily require surgery. As Dr. Kirsner has said, “¿�Thepioblem is a complicated and difficultone requii-ing individual consideration.― I apologize to these authors forimplying otherwise in my enthusiasticcomments on their unique clinical expe rience.
WALTER LAWRENCE, JR., M.D.Assistant Editor, Cance,
New York, N. Y.
L. KRAEER FERGUSON, M.D.Gladwyn, Pa.
I have just finished reading anarticle, “¿�Prophylactic Versus Therapeutic Castration in the Total Treatment of Breast Cancer,― in the MayJune volume of Cc [14: 104-108, 1964].Perhaps someone in your organizationcan tell me what the author said in thearticle. After reading it about fourtimes I wonder why I read it once.
FRANCIS NEUMAYER, M.D.
Lincoln, Nebraska
To TILE EDITOR:
That was an excellent article bySmith and Malmgren on cancer woundsurgical seeding [Ca 14: 90-103, 124-
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