FDA: Avoid Using Dietary Supplements Containing Cesium Salts

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers and healthcare professionals to avoid the use of dietary supplements containing cesium chloride or any other cesium salt. Use of these products can result in significant safety risks, including cardiovascular toxicity and potential death.

In response to a Citizen Petition, the FDA conducted a review of dietary supplements containing cesium salts using the CFSAN Adverse Event Reporting System (CAERS) database as well as other published studies and case reports. Multiple clinical case reports and nonclinical studies from the review indicated significant safety concerns associated with these products, including potentially fatal cardiac arrhythmias, hypokalemia, seizures, syncope, and death.

Cesium chloride is not approved by the FDA to treat cancer or any other disease, however cases of the mineral salt being used as a cancer treatment “alternative” have been reported. Among these cases, doses ranged from 500mg taken daily to 100g taken over 11 days. In some cases, where cesium concentrations were measured, users were found to have extremely high levels of cesium in the body (several hundred to thousand-fold higher than normal).

While a few dietary supplements containing cesium salts still remain on the market, the FDA is advising that these products not be recommended or purchased. “If claims sound too good to be true, they probably are,” the Agency noted in a Public Health Alert.

Healthcare professionals and consumers are encouraged to report any adverse events associated with these products to the Safety Reporting Portal.

For more information visit fda.gov.