Beware of unproven cancer treatments advertised online, EU medicine regulators say

European medicines regulators are warning people against shady clinics and companies that promise miracle cures for cancer and other conditions amid reports that unproven treatments are being offered in several countries.

The warning from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and national-level regulators focused on groundbreaking new treatments that use genes, tissues, or cells, such as gene therapies or so-called cancer vaccines.

Within the European Union, these drugs – known as advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) – can only be offered to patients if they have been authorised by the EMA, if they are being given as part of a clinical trial, or if a national agency has given special permission.

But lately, several clinics and companies have been marketing them directly to patients without evidence that they work or are safe – and without approval from regulators, according to the EMA.

The agency specifically called out dendritic cell therapies, which can be used to activate the body’s immune system to attack cancer cells and are part of a class of treatments commonly called cancer vaccines.

The potentially illegal therapies are often advertised online or on social media “as a last hope, exploiting the worries of patients and their families,” the EMA said.

Because there is no official oversight for these drugs, the agency added, they may be contaminated, inconsistently made, or poorly stored – and even cause serious side effects without boosting patients’ health.

“Patients may also face substantial financial costs and emotional distress from ineffective or harmful treatments,” the EMA said.

It’s not the first time the agency has warned patients against possible medical scams.

In 2020, it said people should be sceptical of