Oncologists dismiss online posts touting grains as 'cancer cure'

"Here is a permanent solution for cancer," read part of a Sinhala-language Facebook post on August 18, 2024.

"Eating grains or grain sprouts will cure cancer permanently," it added.

The post included a clipping from the weekly Navaliya magazine that misleadingly claimed cancer is "not a disease" and is caused by a deficiency in "vitamin B17" -- a reference to the chemical compound laetrile.

Experts have separately said this compound is not a proven cancer treatment (archived link).

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A screenshot of the false Facebook post.

The post circulated online as the bankrupt island nation's health sector grappled with the 2022 economic crisis and unrest that ousted strongman president Gotabaya Rajapaksa (archived link).

Similar false posts were shared on Facebook here and here.

'Factually wrong'

Dr Sanjeeva Gunasekera from the Sri Lanka College of Oncologists told AFP on August 25, 2024 the article was "factually wrong and should not be disseminated among the general public"(archived link).

According to Cancer Research UK, vitamin B17 has long been promoted as an "alternative cancer treatment" but there is not enough reliable evidence that it works (archived link).

The substance is a man-made form of amygdalin found in some nuts, plants and seeds of fruit.

"When laetrile is processed by the body, it changes to cyanide. Cyanide is a type of poison which is thought to kill cancer cells," the charity said.

"The side effects of laetrile are the same as those of cyanide."

Dr Charles Jeffrey Tan, a medical oncologist from the Philippines, separately refuted the claims (archived link).

"I wish eating healthy food can cure cancer but scientifically it is not sound," he told AFP on September 12.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the treatment plan for cancer depends on the tumour type, cancer stage and other factors.

"Treatment options include surgery, cancer medicines and/or radiotherapy, administered alone or in combination," it says on the website for the UN's global health agency (archived link).

AFP has repeatedly debunked misinformation about cancer.