Protein produced by artificial modification of vitamin D-binding protein
GcMAF (orGc protein-derived macrophage activating factor) is a protein produced by modification ofvitamin D-binding protein.[1] It has been falsely promoted as a treatment for various medical conditions, but claims of its benefits are not supported by evidence.
Once proclaimed a 'magic protein' capable of curing cancer, GcMAF has been proven ineffective. The case sheds light on how far scammers are willing to go to exploit desperate cancer patients and their families for financial gain.
Since around 2008, GcMAF has been promoted as a cure for cancer,[5] HIV,[6] autism[7] and other conditions.[8]
Three out of four of the original studies authored by Yamamoto (published between 2007 and 2009) wereretracted by the scientific journals in which they were published in 2014, officially due to irregularities in the wayethical approval was granted.[6][9][10][11] Retraction reasons also included methodological errors in the studies.[12][13] The integrity of the research, conducted by Nobuto Yamamoto and colleagues, that originally prompted claims regarding cancer and HIV has been questioned.[5][2]
In 2014 the BelgianAnticancer Fund communicated serious concerns about published studies on GcMAF by Yamamoto and colleagues.[2]
In 2015 the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) closed a factory in Milton, Cambridgeshire owned byDavid Noakes' company Immuno Biotech that manufactured GcMAF for cancer treatment.[14]
In September 2018 Noakes pleaded guilty in UK to manufacturing a medicinal product without a manufacturer's licence, selling or supplying medicinal products without market authorisation, and money laundering,[15] and sentenced to 15 months of jail.[16]In April 2021 Noakes pleaded guilty in France to manufacturing and selling fake medicinal products and cosmetics by Internet and sentenced to 4 years of jail.[17]
A 2019Business Insider report detailed the activities of Amanda Mary Jewell, who sold GcMAF for years as a(n unlicensed) cure for several medical conditions, including cancer andautism.[18] Jewell is not amedical doctor.[19]
GcMAF initially conceptualized by Nobuto Yamamoto in 1991,[20] has been researched as a possiblecancer treatment.[21] Previous research efforts involved the isolation of Gc protein (1f1f subtype) from human serum through an affinity column modified with25-hydroxyvitamin D3. GcMAF was enzymatically derived from the isolated Gc protein.[22][23]
The 2nd and 3rd generation GcMAF were developed by the Japanese organizations which hold the patents: in the USA (2014, 2016, 2017),[24][25][26] Japan (2015),[27] the EU (2016),[28] Australia (2016),[29] Israel (2018).
^Toshio Inui, Kaori Makita, Hirona Miura, Akiko Matsuda, Daisuke Kuchiike, Kentaro Kubo, Martin Mette, Yoshihiro Uto, Takahito Nishikata, Hitoshi Hori And Norihiro Sakamoto (2014). "Case Report: A Breast Cancer Patient Treated With Gcmaf, Sonodynamic Therapy And Hormone Therapy".Anticancer Research: 34, 4589-4594.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Toshio Inui, Daisuke Kuchiike, Kentaro Kubo, Martin Mette, Yoshihiro Uto, Hitoshi Hori And Norihiro Sakamoto (2013). "Clinical Experience Of Integrative Cancer Immunotherapy With Gcmaf".Anticancer Research: 33, 2917-2920.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
