'Stunning' number of extreme drug doses by doc, expert says
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A Harvard medical professor says patients of a Detroit-area cancer doctor were at high risk of infection because of excessive doses of powerful, expensive drugs.
Dr. Farid (Fa-REED') Fata will be sentenced in federal court for fraud. But a judge first is hearing from experts and patients this week. The hearing began Monday.
Testifying for the government, Dr. Dan Longo says some patients received a "stunning" number of injections of a drug called Rituximab. It's typically given eight times for aggressive lymphoma but one patient got it 94 times.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fata pleaded guilty to committing millions of dollars in fraud against insurance companies and patients.
Prosecutors are seeking a 175-year prison sentence, while Fata is asking for no more than 25 years. Victims are in the courtroom.