Washington (H24N). The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a complaint against three companies and their owner for unlawfully promoting and marketing a drug online for the treatment of cancer.

Laetrile, which is made from the seeds found in apricot pits and almonds, is believed by some to be able to fight cancer. However, the drug has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and scientists warn that it can be dangerous to some patients.

According to the complaint, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, two Bay Harbor, Fla. companies-World Without Cancer and The Health World International, and the Health Genesis Corp. of Arizona are allegedly guilty of hawking the drug illegally on their Web sites. David Arjona, an officer in the three companies, is also named in the government's complaint.

The government complaint states that Arjona's companies sent materials to federal agents that claimed that laetrile could not only prevent cancer from developing, but could also cure cancer.

The FDA announced yesterday that it is seeking a permanent injunction against Arjona's companies, which were temporarily closed last week by a federal judge. The complaint states that the FDA learned of Arjona's operation in 1998 while investigating other companies illegally selling laetrile in Queens, N.Y.

Laetrile, also called amygdalin or vitamin B17, was studied in the 1970s by scientists at the National Cancer Institute. They tested laetrile in laboratory animals and found that it wasn't effective against animal cancers. The public, however, remained convinced of the drug's potential to fight cancer, so the National Cancer Institute undertook an independent review of the substance in 1978, and again in 1981.

Scientists were unable to prove laetrile had any anticancer effects such as tumor shrinkage or a decrease of symptoms, but they did find that some patients had weakened muscles and impaired reflexes as a result of cyanide poisoning. They discovered that laetrile can release the highly toxic chemical cyanide.

March 24, 1987, a federal judge made the importation of Laetrile into the United States illegal.

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