A doctor has been struck off after selling unproven cancer treatments to seriously ill patients.
Tribunal removes doctor who sold bogus cancer treatments to vulnerable patients
Dr Mohsen Ali was removed from the medical register after a tribunal found he charged two people with cancer thousands of pounds for bogus therapies including garlic oil, intravenous vitamin C and ozone treatment from an unregistered Leicester clinic based inside his home.
A Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service hearing was told Ali, whose licence to practise had already been withdrawn in 2015, treated the patients in 2018 and falsely claimed he could cure cancer with a “90% success rate”.
The panel heard one patient, identified as Patient A, paid up to £15,000, while a second patient, Patient B, paid between £10,000 and £12,000.
Ali administered intravenous vitamin C and garlic oil to both patients and reused medical equipment, exposing them to the risk of serious infection, according to findings presented at the hearing.
The tribunal concluded he knew the therapies were not evidence-based treatments capable of curing cancer and ruled his conduct was dishonest.
Ali did not attend the hearing but denied the allegations in an email to the General Medical Council, saying he “never said he can cure cancer”.
However, investigators found promotional material at his address claiming he was a “qualified doctor” who had left the NHS “because chemotherapy and radiotherapy did not work”, and that the treatments he offered had “cured many cancers”.
The flyer also said: “In the name of Allah the best healer we aim to achieve over 90% cure rate in the most challenging illnesses eg cancers.”
Patient A, who had stage three prostate cancer, said Ali “laughed” during a phone call.
He said: “prostate cancer was easy to cure”.
The tribunal heard treatment sessions took place at a semi-detached property later inspected by public health officials, who reported contaminated surfaces, reused equipment and poor infection control standards.
Patient B, who had terminal ovarian cancer, died shortly after ending treatment with Ali and before health and police investigations were completed.
Her husband said NHS doctors had told them no further treatment options were available, but Ali claimed he could “cure her cancer”.
An expert witness told the hearing there were no studies or clinical evidence showing any of the therapies provided by Ali could cure any form of cancer.