Doctor Sued in Death of Cancer Patient, 10

A doctor whose alternative cancer treatment sparked a federal inquiry and debate over the use of experimental drugs has been sued for fraud by the family of a patient who died. Mark and Susan Bedient of Lockport, N.Y., are seeking unspecified damages against Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski of Houston in the death of their daughter, Christina, who died of brain cancer at age 10. Burzynski has claimed for years that antineoplastons, compounds found in human urine and blood, “turn off” cancer genes by interrupting signals that cause the cells to multiply. His treatment involves giving synthetically made antineoplastons to patients. The Bedients sought Burzynski’s treatment in December 1995. The treatment ended in May 1996, and Christina died a month later.