Whistleblower: How One Man Tried to Stop a Famous Cancer Center from Suppressing an Effective Treatment

Ignacio Castuera

American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 2022, vol. 81, issue 4, 701-720

Abstract: While working at Sloan Kettering Institute (SKI) in the 1970s, Ralph Moss discovered that the top research scientist there was impressed with the anti‐cancer properties of amygdalin, the synthetic form of which is laetrile. At that time, laetrile was a topic of national interest as a low‐cost way of treating cancer. It would have been big news if SKI announced that laetrile was effective in animal studies and then conducted human trials of its efficacy. But due to pressure from unknown sources, Moss’s superiors chose to publicly deny the validity of their scientist’s research. Moss and other dissenting staff tried to gain press attention for the cover‐up going on at SKI, but their efforts failed. In 1979, the FDA ban on the interstate sale of laetrile was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, effectively ending the common use of it. It has been classified by the cancer establishment as a classic case of “quackery,” meaning that those who claim it has anti‐cancer properties are frauds. Thus, this case study shows how easily information about potentially effective cancer treatments can be suppressed by a handful of people in positions of authority. It also shows how politics can change the scientific information available to the public.

Date: 2022
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