Kanematsu Sugiura

Kanematsu Sugiura (1890 – October 21, 1979 in White Plains, New York) was a cancer researcher who spent his career at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. A pioneer in cancer research",

He is perhaps best known for his work on laetrile, a controversial alternative cancer treatment, which he was convinced had a palliative effect on certain mice tumors. The report that was released by Sugiura of his findings of the experiment are as follows: The results clearly show that Amygdalin (Laetrile) significantly inhibits the appearance of lung metastasis in mice bearing spontaneous mammary tumors and increases significantly the inhibition of the growth of the primary tumors.... Laetrile also seemed to prevent slightly the appearance of new tumors.... The improvement of health and appearance of the treated animals in comparison to controls is always a common observation.... Dr. Sugiura has never observed complete regression of these tumors in all his cosmic experience with other chemotherapeutic agents.

Laetrile controversy In 1972, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center board member Benno Schmidt convinced the hospital to test laetrile in order to assert its ineffectiveness "with some conviction".

The results of all of the studies were published together in the Journal of Surgical Oncology.