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      • What is Ukrain?
      • How well does Ukrain work?
      • Is Ukrain Safe?
      • Ukrain conclusions
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How well does Ukrain work?

Pre-clinical studies

Animal experiments, case reports and case series have collectively suggested that Ukrain has anticancer activity in a wide range of cell lines. At least 35 in-vitro and 45 animal experiments have been published that all assess the biological mechanism of Ukrain. 5 In-vitro studies have demonstrated weak inhibition of tubulin polymerization, causing arrest at G2/M phase of the cell cycle (ref 6, 7, 8).

Uncontrolled studies

Case reports: several case reports exist for the use of Ukrain in cancer patients. Invariably they suggest Ukrain to be effective e.g. (ref 9,10,11).

Case series: in an uncontrolled trial at a German clinic, 203 advanced cancer patients with different types of cancer were treated with Ukrain over a period of 2.5 years (ref 12). Seventy-six patients (37.4%) were simultaneously treated with regional deep hyperthermia in which tumour tissue was heated to >42.5 degrees C. Patients also received complementary oncological treatment with selenium, cimetidine, thyme extract and vitamin A. Forty-one patients (20.2%) achieved total remission, 122 (60.1%) partial remission and only 40 (19.7%) did not respond to treatment. The highest response rates were in patients with seminoma and in prostate cancer.

Controlled trials

There are seven RCTs assessing the efficacy of Ukrain for various cancer types (ref 5). The majority of these studies was published in two different journals between 1995 and 2002 by four different groups of authors, three from the Belarus and one from Germany. They relate to colorectal (ref 13,14), rectal (ref 15), bladder (ref 16), pancreas (ref 17, 19), and breast cancers (ref 18). Their results suggest in all cases that Ukrain is effective in inhibiting cancer progression.

References

6. Uglyanitsa KN, Nefyodov LI, Doroshenko YM, Nowicky JW, Volchek IV, Brzosko WJ, Hodysh YJ. Ukrain: a novel antitumour drug. Drugs Exp Clin Res 2000;56:347-56.

7. Colombo ML, Bosisio E. Pharmacological activities of Chelidonium majus L. (papaveracea). Pharmacol Res 1996;33:127-34.

8. Panzer A, et al. Ukrain™, a semisynthetic chelidonium majus alkaloid derivative, acts by inhibition of tubulin polymerization in normal and malignant cell lines. Cancer Lett 2000;160:149-57.

9. Prokopchuk OL, Zemskov SV, Susak YM. Ukrain treatment in a patient with metastatic renal cell carcinoma extending to the vena cava inferior. Case report. Drugs Exp Clin Res 2000;26:257-9.

10. Prokopchuk OL, Zemskov SV, Susak YM. Ukrain treatment of a patient with retroperitoneal synovial sarcoma. Case report. Drugs Exp Clin Res 2000;26:255-6.

11. Zemskov SV, Prokopchuk OL, Susak YM. Ukrain treatment in a patient with breast carcinoma. Case report. Drugs Exp Clin Res 2000;26:253-4.

12. Aschhoff B. Retrospective study of Ukrain treatment in 203 patients with advanced-stage tumors. Drugs Exptl Clin Res 2000;25:249-52.

13. Susak YM, Yaremchuk OY, Zemskov VS, Kravchenko OB, Liepins A, Yatsyk IM et al. Randomised clinical study of Ukrain on colorectal cancer. Eur J Cancer 1995;31:S153 Abstract 733.

14. Susak YM, Zemskov SV, Yaremchuk OY, Kravchenko OV, Yatsyk IM, Korsh OB. Comparison of chemotherapy and X-ray therapy with Ukrain monotherapy for colorectal cancer. Drugs Exp Clin Res 1996;22:115-22.

15. Bondar GV, Borota AV, Yakovets YI, Zolotukhin SE. Comparative evaluation of the complex treatment of rectal cancer patients (chemotherapy and X-ray therapy, Ukrain monotherapy). Drugs Exp Clin Res 1998;24:221-6.

16. Uglyanitsa KN, Nechiporenko NA, Nefyodov LI, Brzosko WJ. Ukrain therapy of stage T1NOMO bladder cancer patients. Drugs Exp Clin Res 1998;24:227-30.

17. Zemskov VS, Procopchuk OL, Susak YM, Zemskov SV, Hodysh YY, Zemskova MV. Ukrain (NSC-631570) in the treatment of pancreas cancer. Drugs Exp Clin Res 2000;26:179-90.

18. Uglyanitsa KN, Nefyodov LI, Brzosko WJ. Comparative evaluation of the efficiency of various Ukrain doses in the combined treatment of breast cancer. Report I. Clinical aspects of Ukrain application. Drugs Exp Clin Res 2000;26:223-30.

19. Zemskov SV, Prokopchuk O, Susak Y, Zemskov S, Tkachenko O, Hodysh Y et al. Efficacy of Ukrain in the treatment of pancreatic cancer. Langenbecks Arch Surg 2002;387:84-9.