FDA Announcement
The FDA issued 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. These products are marketed and sold without FDA approval, most commonly on websites and social media platforms.
It is a violation of the US’ 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 or inhibiting cancer cells or tumors, or other similar anti-cancer claims.
See the list of illegally sold cancer treatments here.
What do you have to do next?
If you are consuming any of these illegal cancer treatments, you should not use these or other 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. Avoid purchasing products marketed to treat cancer without any proof that they will work. You should consult with your doctor or health care professional about proper prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer.
The FDA is encouraging all health care professionals and patients to report any adverse events or side effects related to the use of these illegal cancer treatments to the FDA’s MedWatch Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program online or call 1-800-332-1088 (US Toll-free number).
Read the full FDA alert here.
