Fact check: Research on bee venom as cancer treatment in early stages, not a valid option

BrieAnna J. Frank, USA TODAY
·3 min read

The claim: Cancer patients should get a bee sting to kill cancer cells

An April 10 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) claims to describe an effective but unorthodox method for treating a potentially fatal disease.

“If you have cancer, go get stung by a bee,” the post reads. “The venom can slow down and kill cancerous cells. Look it up no cap!”

The post was shared more than 500 times in just over one week.

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Our rating: False

Experts told USA TODAY the claim is baseless and potentially dangerous. Studies have found bee venom was successful at killing cancer cells in laboratory experiments, but such research is in very early stages and will not necessarily translate into a successful treatment in humans.

'Under no circumstances' should cancer patients try to get stung

The Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research in Australia published research in 2020 that found honeybee venom could kill aggressive breast cancer cells.

Researchers extracted venom from 312 honeybees and bumblebees and tested its effects on cancer cells, ultimately concluding that a “specific concentration of honeybee venom can induce 100% cancer cell death.”

Other studies have yielded similar findings regarding bee venom's effect on breast cancer and pancreatic cancer cells.

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Peter Leedman, the director of the institute and a professor of medicine at the University of Western Australia, told USA TODAY honeybee venom research is "currently in laboratory exploration stages" and, at this point, should not be seen as an endorsement of the method in the Facebook post.

"For their own safety, under no circumstances should people try to treat their breast cancer condition by intentionally getting stung by bees," he said.

As a University of California, Los Angeles article points out, laboratory findings may not translate into successful medications for humans.

Dr. John Glaspy, an oncologist at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, said the trick to cancer treatments is finding an agent that kills cancer cells while not harming healthy ones.

Glaspy said he's concerned about the impact such claims could have on the bee population, especially given what happened as a result of similar claims about the supposed impact of shark cartilage on cancer cells. Though the method has been debunked, a Johns Hopkins University study found it led to a "dramatic decline" in shark populations and diverted cancer patients from effective treatments.

Glaspy said there's plenty to be optimistic about when it comes to the future of cancer treatment, but bee venom is "way down on the to-do list" for scientists.

"It's not like we're going to kick this last bit of hope out from under you," he said of debunking the bee sting claim. "It's more, 'thank goodness there's better stuff out there.'"

USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the claim for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: No, bee stings are not a valid treatment for cancer