Doctor cleared of allegations of offering cancer patient treatment without flagging risk
A Medical Council fitness to practise committee has cleared Professor Dana Flavin of allegations regarding the marketing of cancer immune support therapy. The committee found the allegations unproven due to a lack of direct evidence that the doctor provided treatment or that the patient accessed the website in question.
Why it matters
This case highlights the regulatory challenges in monitoring medical advice provided online and the evidentiary standards required for professional misconduct hearings.
Allegations that a doctor did not advertise clearly on her website that cancer immune support therapy should be undertaken in addition to, and not as a replacement for, conventional therapy, have been found unproven.
A Medical Council fitness to practise committee reconvened on Tuesday to announce its findings regarding the allegations, which also included professional misconduct and poor professional performance, in relation to Prof Dana Flavin, whose registered address is Eschenberg, Starberg, Germany.
The doctor faced allegations that between September 2021 and April 2023, while providing treatment to a patient, A, who was suffering from localised breast cancer, that she failed to clearly advertise on her website, collmed.org, the risks associated with immune-support treatment.
It was further alleged that Flavin, who qualified in Austria, failed to clearly state on her website that the treatment offered was not based on phase-three clinical trials.
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