FDA warns vs ‘anticancer’ food supplements

MANILA, Philippines—Many popular food supplements such as guyabano, mangosteen and malunggay extracts touted to fight cancer have not yet been proven in clinical studies to cure cancer patients, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said.

The FDA warned the public against falling for what they called “health scams.”

The Philippine Society of Medical Oncology (PSMO) said the supplements not supported by high-level scientific evidence include: homeopathic products, high dose oral vitamins such as vitamin C and collagen, oral stem cell enhancers or fibroblast growth factor enhancers, vitamin A therapy above 5,000 IU a day, vitamin E during radiotherapy, ozone therapy and heavy metal chelation therapy.

The organization of 196 practicing oncologists said there was also not enough scientific evidence to suggest the use of TRANSFER FACTOR (so-called immune boosters), malunggay oil, mangosteen extract pills, guyabano extract pills, resveratol or grape seed extract, and intravenous hydrogen peroxide.

“We can’t promote malunggay oil as an anticancer treatment because there are not enough studies on humans,” said Dr. Ellie May Villegas, PSMO vice president.

As for juice therapies, Villegas said they received a report of a cancer patient who died from severe lactic acidosis after taking large doses of mangosteen juice daily for a year.

“Patients should tell us what they’re taking. You can eat or drink it sparingly but when you take it as a treatment, there’s really no evidence it works,” Villegas said.

She said guyabano has also not been proven to cure cancer.

“So everything should be taken in moderation,” Villegas stressed.

There are some complementary supplements “supported by high-level scientific evidence,” according to PSMO. These include fish oil EPA/DHA, vitamin D3; medicinal mushrooms beta glucans such as coriolus, AHCC, astragalus and maitake MD fraction; wheat germ extract such as avemar and IP-6 inositol hexaphosphate; bio-available curcumin; green tea (95 percent ECCG); acetogenin molecules; bio-available Silymarin Phytosome; COQ10 & Alpha Lipoic Acid; American Ginseng, Rhodiola and Ashwagandha; calcium citrate/carbonate; ferrous sulphate/bis-glycinate vitamin B12; whey protein/L-glutamine branched chain amino acids; and polyglycoplex.

Noting the “proliferation” of supplementary medications that claim to control or cure cancer, PSMO president Dr. Felycette Gay Lapus said cancer patients must fully disclose all supplements and medications they take so doctors can advise them whether the substances will adversely affect the standard treatment such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery.

“The use of complementary and alternative medicines must be done with caution and with the full approval of the attending physician,” PSMO said in a statement.

Villegas said they understand that patients may want to try alternative treatments, adding that patients can take proven complementary medicines as well as complementary therapies such as acupuncture, massage, music, and mind-body therapies such as meditation and dietary supplements which are generally regarded as safe.