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Archives | (April 2003)
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FEDERAL FRANKENSTEINS: PART TWO SCIENTIFIC AMBITION ECLIPSES ETHICS
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------------------------------------------------------------------ Page 4 of 6 Bensinger could have gotten the same permission from the FDA, but chose not to do so. As a result, the IV form of PTX would not be available to his patients. This fact, however, was never revealed to patients enrolled in Protocol 681. Instead, the informed consent document given to prospective patients mentioned the IV version of PTX in three different places, leaving the clear impression that it was a readily available option. There were other critical omissions in the form as well. It did not mention that two of the four patients in the previous experiment who were given high doses of chemotherapy but not given “rescue drugs” had died. It also said, “ Recent studies suggest that PTX (pentoxifylline) prevents kidney, lung and liver damage in patients receiving transplants.” This despite the clear knowledge that the statement was untrue! Finally it did not mention that while the new patients were going to be given 18 milligrams of the chemotherapy drug bulsufan per kilogram of body weight, even the smaller dose of 16 milligrams per kilogram of body weight used in the previous study was found to be “too toxic.” In other words, they were going to give new patients an even more lethal dose! The first of these was Kathryn Hamilton. A DEADLY WEB OF LIES CLAIMS AN INNOCENT VICTIMThe 48-year old mother had first been diagnosed with cancer fourteen years earlier. After receiving conventional treatment – surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, she believed she was out of the woods. For a decade it seemed she was right. Then, after eleven years her cancer came back. A second course of conventional treatment – more surgery, radiation and chemotherapy gave her a couple of years of respite. But then her cancer returned again, and this time conventional treatments offered no hope. All that remained was a stem cell transplant. On January 6, 1993 Kathryn Hamilton was admitted to the Hutch. It was a logical choice for the Bellingham, Washington resident where she was director of emergency health services. Like most people in Washington State she was aware of the Center’s reputation as the leading institution in the field of bone marrow and stem cell transplants. Moreover, with a Master’s Degree in health administration she knew what questions to ask. |
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