A requirement circulating among online users in Pakistan claims that drinking tea made from the roots of the dandelion plant can kill cancer cells within 48 hours and cure cancer. The post also claims that this herbal tea is more effective than chemotherapy for the treatment of the disease.
This claim is mostly false and is not supported by any scientific evidence.
Assertion
“A plant that can destroy cancer cells in just 48 hours,” read a post on Facebook on January 17th. “This plant is more effective than chemotherapy.”
The post then continues to claim that the most notable aspect of dandelion tea is that it allegedly works without damaging healthy cells and only targets against cancer.
“A 72-year-old man, John di Carlo, personally experienced the healing properties of dandelions after three years of failed treatments. He started drinking tea made of dandelion root, and in just four months he was fully recovered, ”the text claims.
The post has been shared over 9,200 times and has collected over 9,000 likes.
Similar claims were also shared on Facebook here and here.
Fact
There is no scientific evidence to support the claim that dandelion root can cure cancer, doctors confirm.
Dr. Natasha Ali, professor of hematology at Aga Khan University Hospital in Karachi, rejects the online requirements. “There is no evidence suggesting that dandelion root can cure cancer,” Dr. Ali to GEO FACT CHECK over the phone. She added that studies have shown that dandelions root have anti -inflammatory and antidepressants.
Dr. Rab Nawaz Maken, head of the oncology department at the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Oncology in Lahore, repeated this mood. “There is no scientific evidence to support such claims,” he said.
The Making further emphasized that medical professionals rely on reliable sources, such as US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to determine whether a treatment has undergone strict clinical trials, including phase 1, phase 2 and phase 3 studies.
GEO FACT CHECK Also reached out to Khawaja Nazir, Senior Manager for Media and Public Relations at Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital in Lahore, confirming, “There are no human clinical trials of dandelions that prove these claims.” Nazir added that chemotherapy remains a cornerstone of cancer treatment, supported by decades of clinical data.
The social media posts also mention John di Carlo, a 72-year-old man whose cancer was allegedly healed by drinking dandelion tea. GEO FACT CHECK Examined this case and found a 2012 article on John Di Carlo’s treatment in Canada. According to the article, DI Carlo’s leukemia went into remission after drinking dandelion tea at home.
However, this claim was later controlled by several news sites. In a fact control of the US Today, the New York-based Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center informed the New York-based Memorial Sloan Cancer Center that there is no crucial clinical evidence suggesting that dandelion root extract can treat cancer in humans.
Fact-check also noted that although some studies have been performed on the effects of dandelion root on cancer cells in a petri dish, clinical studies have not been performed on human patients. Thus, no published research has proven its anti-cancer effects in humans.
The USA TodayAt Politifactand Snopes have already fact -controlled these claims.
Judgment The claim that dandelion root can kill 98% of cancer cells of 48 hours lacks a scientific basis. No clinical studies have shown its effect on patients with human cancer.
