Doctor who used unproven cancer treatments stripped of licence and hit with almost $200,000 in costs

An Ontario doctor who used an unproven and unapproved methods to diagnose, monitor and treat cancer in his patients has been stripped of his liscence and ordered to pay close to $197,030 in college costs. Dr. Akbar Nauman Khan, a Toronto family physician who owns a clinic called Medicor Cancer Centres, “failed his vulnerable patients and broke their trust at time of great need: when they were sick and dying or feared that they may be, and required sound care from a trustworthy, competent physician,” the Ontario Physicians and Surgeons Discipline Tribunal wrote in its decision document. “We conclude that revocation of Dr. Khan’s certificate of registration is proportionate and necessary. This will maintain the integrity of the profession, and the overarching principle of protection of the public.” The tribunal’s investigation also found that Dr. Khan had fraudulently billed the province for palliative care for six patients to whom he did not provide it. There were concerns as well about the care he provided to 19 children but, according to the tribunal, Dr. Khan has hampered investigations into these patient files. Read: Doctor slammed for using unapproved, unproven cancer treatment treatments, even on a patient with no cancer “Dr. Khan also broke the trust of the profession and failed to repeatedly ensure he followed the OHIP system when he billed the people of Ontario tens of thousands of dollars for care he did not provide,” wrote the tribunal. “Dr. Khan also continues in his failure to comply with a College investigation by obstructing its ability to verify the quality of his care as it pertains to 19 children, whose charts he has withheld for years.” Dr. Khan disputed the amount of cost imposed by the college, but the tribunal reasoned that the amount was justified given the length and complexity of the investigation and hearings. The main focus of the investigation was Dr. Khan’s use of questionable treatment regimens on patients with cancer. In 2013, he began offering SAFE chemotherapy, a regimen that uses both carboplatin and mesna. These conventional drugs are Health Canada-approved cancer treatments, but their combined use is not approved. Read: Doc who promoted $14K alternative cancer 'treatments' hit with 4-month suspension and $85K in costs A dozen patient files examined by the tribunal found that each patient had received anywhere from five to 24 cycles of SAFE chemotherapy, at a cost of $4,200 per cycle. Dr Khan also used dichloroacetate—typically used to treat metabolic disorders in children—as an alternative cancer treatment in an estimated 3,000 patients, as well as low-dose naltrexone. The tribunal also questioned his use of ONCOblot and circulating tumour cell detection to diagnose, monitor and treat cancer. “He exposed his patients to the risk of harm and false hope, and at times, he caused both,” wrote the tribunal. “The underlying deficits that led to our findings reflected Dr. Khan’s choices in conduct, and his incompetence which is rooted in deficiencies in his knowledge, skill and judgment, communication, errors in critical thinking and his understanding and application of evidence-based medicine, as well as scientific and medical principles, all of which are reasonably expected of all physicians regardless of their area of practice.” Read: When two wrongs don't make a right: Doctor prescribed Ivermectin for myocarditis—even though tests ruled out the condition

Doctor who used unproven cancer treatments stripped of licence and hit with almost $200,000 in costs

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