Disgraced doctor out at Myrtle Beach's Coastal Cancer Center

MYRTLE BEACH, SC - Dr. Anil Potti is out of a job at Coastal Cancer Center as the practice decided to end its relationship with him.

Coastal Cancer Center in Myrtle Beach first hired Potti in March of 2011. He was based in the Loris office. Potti has been in the news this month following an investigation on the CBS News program "60 Minutes."

The cancer center put out a news release Tuesday which said that Potti is no longer associated with the practice. The release did not say the falling out took place because of alleged research misconduct at Duke University, but instead because of the public's reaction to the "60 Minutes" story.

"It has become obvious that this issue is going to take precious focus away from patient care," Dr. Lawrence Holt said in the release.

Holt said that many concerned people have contacted the center with questions since the story aired.

The segment "Deception at Duke" probed into Potti's clinical trial which promised to treat cancer patients with chemotherapy specifically for their DNA. Several loved ones of former patients have now launched lawsuits against Duke and Potti.

"When you look at the data, when you analyze it, is it a close call or is it abundantly clear that the data were fabricated?" CBS correspondent Scott Pelley asked Duke physician Dr. Joseph Nevins.

Nevins responded: "Abundantly clear."

News13 interviewed Dr. Holt on Feb. 13, the day after the story aired.

"The 60 Minutes study was certainly one-sided," Holt said.

Glowing recommendations from Duke colleagues helped convince Holt and the center to give Potti the job. The release Tuesday defends the hiring.

"We were assured by Duke Medical's leaders that Anil was 'outstanding in all categories,' 'had excellent clincial skills' and that he had conducted himself at Duke with 'honesty, integrity and humility.'" Holt said in the release.

"Many Duke physicians said they would have no trouble with him taking care of their own family members," Holt said in the News13 interview last week.

Potti's application for a South Carolina medical license also includes the letter of recommendation that Holt is talking about. News13 obtained the application from the SC Labor, Licensing and Regulations office through a Freedom of Information Act request.

In it, Potti talks about another controversy surrounding his resume. For some time the CV listed him as a Rhodes Scholar, but he did not go to Oxford.

Potti said confusion with a scholarship nomination from Australia led him to the mistake. There is no mention that he faced an investigation into research misconduct in the application.

"I was born to poor parents in an underserved community in India. When I was transitioning from my academic position into private practice, I was attracted to the community in Loris, SC and their healthcare system," Potti wrote in the application.

"There appeared an opportunity for me and my family to return to a community that we would enjoy and hopefully help."

Pamela Secrest is a Myrtle Beach attorney with the Furr and Henshaw law firm. The firm specializes in medical malpractice.

"A patient needs to know their doctor, they need to know what areas they specialize in."

The first thing you should do is log onto the SC Board of Medical Examiners web site verification.

You'll find that site at http://verify.llronline.com You then click on licensee lookup.

If you type in Potti, you'll find he is in good standing with a valid license. That's where a little extra homework can shed some light.

"We're amazed sometimes the information we find when we Google someone's name," Secrest said.

The fact that Potti faces an investigation in NC yet was licensed and is in good standing in SC is what might require more diligent background checking for patients.

You can watch the full 60 Minutes report at: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7398476n