Douglas W. Stearn
Nicole Kornspan, MPH
On April 25, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) posted warning letters addressed to 14 U.S.-based companies illegally selling more than 65 products that fraudulently claim to prevent, diagnose, treat, or cure cancer. The products are marketed and sold without FDA approval, most commonly on websites and social media platforms.
“Consumers should not use these or similar unproven products because they may be unsafe and could prevent a person from seeking an appropriate and potentially life-saving cancer diagnosis or treatment,” said Douglas W. Stearn, Director of the Office of Enforcement and Import Operations in the FDA’s Office of Regulatory Affairs. “We encourage people to remain vigilant whether online or in a store and avoid purchasing products marketed to treat cancer without any proof they will work. Patients should consult a health-care professional about proper prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer.”
“Anyone who suffers from cancer, or knows someone who does, understands the fear and desperation that can set in,” said Nicole Kornspan, MPH, a consumer safety officer at the FDA. “There can be a great temptation to jump at anything that appears to offer a chance for a cure.”
It is a violation of the U.S. Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to market and sell products that claim to prevent, diagnose, treat, mitigate, or cure diseases without first demonstrating to the FDA that they are safe and effective for their labeled uses. The illegally sold products cited in the warning letters include a variety of product types, such as pills, topical creams, ointments, oils, drops, syrups, teas, and diagnostics (such as thermography devices). They include products marketed for use by humans or pets that make illegal, unproven claims regarding preventing, reversing, or curing cancer; killing/inhibiting cancer cells or tumors; or other similar anticancer claims.
The FDA has requested responses from the 14 companies stating how the violations will be corrected. Failure to correct the violations promptly may result in legal action, including product seizure, injunction, and/or criminal prosecution.
Protecting Consumers
As part of the FDA’s effort to protect consumers from cancer health fraud, the agency has issued more than 90 warning letters in the past 10 years to companies marketing hundreds of fraudulent products making cancer claims on websites, social media, and in stores. Although many of these companies have stopped selling the products or making fraudulent claims, numerous unsafe and unapproved products continue to be sold directly to consumers due in part to the ease with which companies can move their marketing operations to new websites.
The FDA continues to monitor and take action against companies promoting and selling unproven treatments in an effort to minimize the potential dangers to consumers and to educate consumers about the risks. ■
