Does the organic sulfur compound methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) cure stage 4 breast cancer and reverse autism as well as relieve lupus symptoms? No, all but a grain of this is inflated or outright false. The grain of truth is that MSM has been found to reduce joint inflammation for some lupus sufferers. The other claims are false, as there is no cure for autism, and, while MSM has been found to shrink breast tissue cells in laboratory mice, there is no evidence it cures advanced human metastatic breast cancer.
The claims originated in a video (archived here) published on TikTok by "Divine Dolphhin" on June 6, 2020, under the title "Organic Sulfur Treats Cancer." It opens:
Organic Sulfur was introduced to me by a woman at work who cured herself of stage 4 breast cancer after chemotherapy didn't work, because I had lupus. It reversed every single symptom of my lupus. How is this possible?"
This is what the video looked like at the time it was posted:
@divinedolphin Organic Sulfur Crystals ##healthyliving ##medical ##fyp ##cancer ##autoimmune ##lupus ##miracle ##god ##food
♬ original sound - divinedolphin
The video is all talk with no evidence to substantiate its claims. The "woman at work who cured herself of stage 4 breast cancer" is never identified nor is any evidence offered to back up the cure claim.
A study in mice in South Korea, as reported by the National Center for Biotechnology Information in 2012, found that MSM given to mice for 30 days inhibited breast cancer growth. But these were not human trials and the animals were not at stage 4 metastatic cancer. An article in the December 2015 International Journal of Oncology found that MSM discourages growth in certain cells in lab dishes -- but, again, not in human patients.
The second claim made in the video was that all the speaker's symptoms of lupus cleared up after taking MSM. The video offers no proof that the speaker has or ever had lupus. She doesn't state what her symptoms were, or what type of lupus she may have been suffering from. While it is possible that a lupus sufferer can go into remission, with or without taking a sulfur supplement, an analysis by Penn State University of treatments for lupus puts MSM at the bottom of a list of supplements that could relieve joint pain symptoms. The article states, "Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) may help prevent joint and connective tissue breakdown." But MSM is listed below drug therapies and at the bottom of a list of "Alternative Therapies," next to turmeric. It is NOT, however listed as a cure.
A comprehensive YouTube video about lupus, featuring Rosalind Ramsey-Goldman, MD, Northwestern University lupus expert, discusses the treatments, symptoms and affected organs in lupus patients. MSM is not mentioned, not even as an adjunctive treatment. She makes it clear that there is no cure at this time for lupus.
Another claim in the TikTok video states that MSM was responsible for curing "18 cases of autism" with no supporting evidence such as confirmation of diagnosis or severity of autism among 18 individuals. No parents, educators or doctors are included to back this claim. Applied Behavior Analysis studies of autism debunk the idea that MSM could effect such results.
Some scientists believe that there will never be a single cure for autism, based on the more modern understanding that the disorder represents a constellation of underlying causes, no single one of which is necessarily a definitive cause. Without one cause, there can be no single cure."
Further, the Applied Behavior Analysis article states, that a search of the internet today "will turn up any number of fraudulent cures for autism that make wild, unscientific, and frequently dangerous claims; things like adopting a gluten-free diet... killing off 'toxic' gut bacteria... increasing zinc intake... going to entirely organic foods... applying magnets to particular places on the head... prayer... and even spanking."
The more frightening the disease, the more likely people are to take supplements without the evidence to back them. "The evidence is lacking to support taking MSM for Alzheimer's, cancer, and HIV," according to WebMD.
MSM has become popular because of the book, "The Miracle of MSM: The Natural Solution for Pain" by the late Stanley W. Jacob. The New York Times reported that Jacob attempted to gain government approval to use his sulfur compound (also called DMSO) for pain relief for human bladder infections and was charged, though not convicted, of bribing a government official with $36,500 to pave the way. DMSO, a byproduct of paper manufacturing, had been approved for veterinary use only, as a pain reliever for horses.
Despite its popularity in alternative healing circles, pharmaceutical clearinghouse RxList.com writes about MSM:
there is little published scientific research to support its use. Contrary to some literature that promotes MSM, there is no recommended daily allowance for MSM or sulfur, which is in it. Sulfur deficiency has not been described in the medical literature.
