ideasIdea
A public registry of unproven cancer clinics and reported outcomes
A searchable public record of clinics selling unproven cancer treatments, with the claims they make, the prices, the evidence and the harms reported by patients and doctors.
Patients spend large sums at clinics offering unproven treatments (high-dose vitamin infusions, unregulated cell therapies, hyperthermia without evidence) and oncologists see the consequences but have nowhere to report them. The proposal is a registry maintained by an independent body, populated by clinician and patient reports and public advertising, with a standard evidence grading and links to regulatory actions, plus a route to notify regulators and platforms.
Hypothesis
A visible registry reduces spending on listed clinics, increases regulatory enforcement actions, and appears in the top search results for those clinics within a year.
Rationale
Sunlight works where enforcement is slow; consumer protection registries change behaviour in other markets.
What would test it
Launch with 200 clinics in two countries; measure search visibility, referrals to regulators, and patient-reported awareness in oncology clinics.
Maturity
speculative
Who has to act
regulator
Cost to try
Small (under $1M)
Years to first evidence
2
Bottlenecks it attacks
- Misinformation and unproven therapies · Patients are sold unproven treatments and frightened away from proven ones.