FDA Logo--links to FDA home page
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
HHS Log--links to Department of Health and Human Services website

FDA Home Page | Search FDA Site | FDA A-Z Index | Contact FDA


horizontal rule

Consumer Update

red envelope Sign up for Consumer Updates by e-mail

RSS feed RSS feed for Consumer Updates [what is RSS?]

Main Consumer Health Information Page

Beware of Online Cancer Fraud

Printer-friendly PDF (284 KB)
Cover page of PDF version of this article, including photos of two bogus cancer treatments and a 1957 FDA print advartisement warning the public against bogus cancer cures.

On this page:

Additional FDA Resources:

While health fraud is a cruel form of greed, fraud involving cancer treatments can be particularly heartless—especially because fraudulent information can travel around the Web in an instant.

"Anyone who suffers from cancer, or knows someone who does, understands the fear and desperation that can set in," says Gary Coody, R.Ph., the National Health Fraud Coordinator and a Consumer Safety Officer with the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Office of Regulatory Affairs. "There can be a great temptation to jump at anything that appears to offer a chance for a cure."

Medicinal products and devices intended to treat cancer must gain FDA approval before they are marketed. The agency's review process helps ensure that these products are safe and effective.

Nevertheless, it's always possible to find someone or some company hawking bogus cancer "treatments." Such "treatments" come in many forms, including pills, tonics, and creams. "They're frequently offered as natural treatments and 'dietary supplements,'" says Coody. Many of these fraudulent cancer products even appear completely harmless, but may cause indirect harm by delaying or interfering with proven, beneficial treatments.

"Advertisements and other promotional materials touting bogus cancer 'cures' have probably been around as long as the printing press," says Coody. "However, the Internet has compounded the problem by providing the peddlers of these often dangerous products a whole new outlet."

back to top

Unproven 'Remedies,' False Promises

Coody cites black salves as one of the fake cancer "remedies" that indeed have proven to be harmful. "Although it is illegal to market these salves as a cancer treatment, they are readily available online," he says.

The salves are sold with false promises that they will cure cancer by "drawing out" the disease from beneath the skin. "However, there is no scientific evidence that black salves are effective," says Janet Woodcock, Director of FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER). "Even worse, black salves can cause direct harm to the patient."

The corrosive, oily salves "essentially burn off layers of the skin and surrounding normal tissue," says Woodcock. "This is not a simple, painless process. There are documented cases of these salves destroying large parts of people's skin and underlying tissue, leaving terrible scars."

Another unproven "remedy" that has been hawked for decades is an herbal regimen known as the Hoxsey Cancer Treatment. "FDA has taken regulatory and enforcement action against this discredited course of therapy beginning in the 1950s," says Coody.

"There is no scientific evidence that it has any value to treat cancer," he adds. "Yet consumers can go online right now and find all sorts of false claims that Hoxsey treatment is effective against the disease."

back to top

Red Flags

Coody says that firms engaged in cancer treatment or prevention fraud often use exaggerated and bogus claims to promote these products. He adds that consumers should recognize the following phrases as red flags:

"Unproven claims are also found in unverified testimonials, research results, or even in product and website names," says Coody. He offers important points that consumers seeking cancer treatments should keep in mind:

"There are legal ways for patients to access investigational drugs," says Coody. "The most common way is by taking part in clinical trials. But patients can also receive investigational drugs outside of clinical trials in some cases." For more details on this, visit www.fda.gov/oashi/speedaccess.html.

back to top

Agencies Take Action

FDA and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), in collaboration with other North American government agencies, have announced a new initiative to prevent these deceptive products from reaching consumers. Coody says that as part of the joint campaign, FDA and FTC have sent approximately 135 warning letters and two advisory letters to firms that market these products online.

The initiative originated not only from consumer complaints, he says, but also from a Web surf for fraudulent cancer products by FDA and members of the Mexico-United States-Canada Health fraud working group (MUCH).

back to top

horizontal rule

Signs of Health Fraud

All consumers seeking information about any health product or medical treatment should be familiar with the following signs of health fraud:

back to top

horizontal rule

For More Information

FDA Press Release
www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2008/NEW01852.html

FDA: Cracking Down on Health Fraud
www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2006/606_fraud.html

FDA's Cancer Liaison Program
www.fda.gov/oashi/cancer/cancer.html

National Cancer Institute: Clinical Trials
www.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials

Competition Bureau Canada’s Project False Hope
www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/epic/site/cb-bc.nsf/en/02614e.html

FTC Announces Operation False Hope (Sept. 18, 2008)
www.ftc.gov/curious

back to top

Updated: September 18, 2008

horizontal rule