{"entity":{"id":"germanium-supplements","kind":"technology","name":"Germanium supplements (Ge-132, 'vitamin O')","aka":["Germanium sesquioxide","Ge-132","Organic germanium","Spirogermanium"],"tldr":"Germanium is a mineral used in electronics that is sold as a supplement to fight cancer. There is no good evidence it works, and it causes kidney, liver and nerve damage, even at low doses, so Memorial Sloan Kettering advises that it should not be used at all.","summary":"Memorial Sloan Kettering's About Herbs entry describes germanium as non-essential and promoted, in inorganic and organic forms, for cancer and AIDS. Spirogermanium was investigated as an anticancer drug and caused severe kidney, liver, bone marrow and nerve toxicity. Germanium sesquioxide (Ge-132) is marketed as a lower-toxicity supplement; a single case report described tumour remission, but there is no conclusive evidence that it treats cancer, and a 2011 phase 2 trial for radiation fatigue has produced no results. Products may be contaminated with toxic inorganic germanium dioxide; the FDA has issued warning letters about unsubstantiated claims and does not allow importation for human consumption. MSK states plainly that germanium supplements should not be consumed: low-dose chronic toxicity has been demonstrated repeatedly, with weight loss, fatigue, anaemia, muscle weakness and sensory ataxia commonly, and chronic kidney failure, liver damage, neuropathy and bone marrow hypoplasia more rarely.","status":"negative","asOf":"2026-11-04","links":[{"label":"MSK About Herbs: Germanium (page last updated 10 February 2023)","url":"https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/integrative-medicine/herbs/germanium"}],"tags":["complementary","supportive-care","evidence:harm"],"related":["colloidal-silver","coral-calcium"],"cancers":[],"sections":["supportive-care"],"technologies":["alternative-medicine-instead-of-treatment","integrative-oncology"],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":[],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":["unproven-diet-claims"],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":["b-misinformation"],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"principle":"Claimed to improve tissue oxygenation and immunity; the documented biological effect in people is tubular kidney damage and neurotoxicity.","strengths":["None established"],"limitations":["Kidney, liver, nerve and marrow toxicity at low doses","Contamination with germanium dioxide","No conclusive evidence of anticancer effect"]},"route":"/technologies/germanium-supplements/","neighbours":{"technology":[{"id":"alternative-medicine-instead-of-treatment","kind":"technology","name":"Alternative medicine used instead of standard treatment","route":"/technologies/alternative-medicine-instead-of-treatment/"},{"id":"colloidal-silver","kind":"technology","name":"Colloidal silver","route":"/technologies/colloidal-silver/"},{"id":"coral-calcium","kind":"technology","name":"Coral calcium","route":"/technologies/coral-calcium/"},{"id":"integrative-oncology","kind":"technology","name":"Evidence-based integrative oncology","route":"/technologies/integrative-oncology/"}],"section":[{"id":"supportive-care","kind":"section","name":"Supportive Care & Survivorship","route":"/fronts/supportive-care/"}],"term":[{"id":"unproven-diet-claims","kind":"term","name":"Unproven diet claims (alkaline, juice, 'anti-cancer' diets)","route":"/terms/unproven-diet-claims/"}],"bottleneck":[{"id":"b-misinformation","kind":"bottleneck","name":"Misinformation and unproven therapies","route":"/bottlenecks/b-misinformation/"}]}}