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Published: April 22, 2023
A family doctor's license was revoked in Toronto after it was found that he treated a cancer patient who did not have it.
Dr. Akbar Nauman Khan is the founder of Medicor Cancer Centers Inc, a specialized cancer treatment center located on Yonge Street.
Khan was first brought before the Ontario Physicians and Surgeons Discipline Tribunal (OPSDT) in February 2022 due to allegations that he failed to maintain professional standards while treating dozens of cancer patients.
The allegations accused Khan of providing a variety of unproven treatments to patients, including so-called safe chemotherapy and a drug called dichloroacetate, a medication for metabolic disorders.
The ruling stated: Whether it was snake oil or witch's brew or anything else, whatever Dr. Khan was offering his patients, it was not what was asked of him.
The ruling also said: By doing so, Dr. Khan set aside his duties as a physician to support complementary and alternative medicine policies, and in doing so, he betrayed his patients.
It is noted that on March 28, the Ontario Physicians and Surgeons Discipline Tribunal revoked Khan's license after he was found guilty of professional misconduct, including mistakenly treating a cancer patient for more than a year, and prescribing drugs to a cancer patient which “increased the risk of disease progression.”
Khan also chose not to appear before the hearing, and has since been ordered to pay just over $72,000 in court costs as part of their ruling.
13 months of cancer treatment
The court described Khan's misconduct as extremely serious. In one of the incidents detailed in the ruling, Khan was said to be treating a patient, referred to as Patient A, for cancer.
The ruling states Patient A did not have cancer, yet Khan was found to have treated the patient as such for more than 13 months, “ignoring the negative side effects he experienced from the treatment.”
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) began an investigation into the complaint, and Khan reportedly attempted to interfere with the investigation.
College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario: Khan increased the risk of cancer disease for the patient
When treating another patient, referred to in the ruling as “Patient B,” the court found that Khan was administering chemotherapy contrary to the advice of specialists.
Khan is also said to have changed the patient's medication, exposing him to the risk of cancer worsening.
The ruling also stated that oncology specialists in Patient B’s case did not have the opportunity to intervene quickly to address potential harm, noting that the patient had been under Khan’s care for more than three years.
Details of medical license revocation
The court said Khan chose not to participate in the disciplinary hearing at the Ontario Physicians and Surgeons Tribunal.
It wrote, “Because he did not participate, we have no evidence of any mitigating factors related to his personal circumstances or actions that could reduce the penalty.”
Accordingly, the court revoked Khan’s license and ordered him to pay total costs amounting to $72,590.
The court also wrote in its decision: “Revocation is appropriate here, and it is necessary to send a message to the profession and the public that a physician cannot do what Dr. Khan did and continue to practice medicine.”
The ruling added that the court does not believe it would be safe to allow Khan to continue practicing medicine.
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