Does Soursop Cure Cancer? What the Human Research Actually Shows

No. Extracts of soursop leaves are toxic to cancer cells in laboratory dishes and have slowed tumours in some animal experiments, which is why the claim spread. In people, no clinical trial has measured whether soursop shrinks a tumour, delays recurrence or extends life. The human studies that exist are a randomised trial of 30 colorectal cancer patients that measured a laboratory marker in their blood, a non-randomised study of a combination product in 162 bladder cancer patients, two registered trials with no results, and a survey showing how many patients take it. Cancer Research UK's position is that there is not enough reliable evidence that it works as a treatment for cancer. Anyone having cancer treatment should tell their team before taking any soursop product, and nothing here is a reason to delay or replace treatment.^{1, 3, 4, 11} This page is one spoke of the Wellgard soursop guide.

Evidence at a glance

• Laboratory and animal studies: many; a 2024 systematic review found 10 and no human intervention study.
• Human studies: one randomised trial (30 patients, laboratory marker), one non-randomised study (162 patients, combination product), two registered trials without results, one survey of use.
• Clinical outcome in people (tumour size, recurrence, survival): never measured.

Sources checked on 17 October 2026.

Where did the claim come from?

From dishes. Acetogenins, the compounds behind soursop's safety question, block complex I of the mitochondrial respiratory chain, and cells that depend heavily on that energy supply, including many cancer cell lines, die when it is cut; a 2018 mechanistic review lists many such cell experiments and a smaller number of rodent experiments in which extracts slowed tumour growth.¹ That is a reason to study a compound, and it is the same mechanism that damages nerve cells, which is why the cells in a dish cannot tell you what a capsule does in a person.⁸ The line "10,000 times stronger than chemotherapy" that circulates online appears in no published study we could find; Cancer Research UK describes such claims as based on "unsupported opinions and anecdotal evidence".¹¹

What can laboratory and animal studies tell you?

Whether something is worth testing in people, and little more. The evidence ladder runs from cells, to animals, to markers measured in people, to clinical outcomes measured in people, and most substances that are toxic to cancer cells in a dish never reach the top rung. A 2024 systematic review of soursop and cancer searched three databases and selected 10 studies; all were cell or animal experiments, and the authors concluded that intervention studies in people are still required.² A 2020 review of the safety literature to April 2019 found cell, animal and human studies but no trial with a cancer outcome either.⁵ Nothing on this ladder is a reason to change a treatment plan, and the cancer team is the place to take any question about it.

What have the human studies found?

Two things follow. No study has asked whether a tumour shrank, a cancer came back later or a patient lived longer with soursop; and the one randomised trial measured a laboratory marker in 28 people and reported no figures in its abstract. The 2022 bladder study is the only one with a clinical outcome, and it was neither randomised nor able to separate soursop from ellagic acid.^{3, 4}

What do Cancer Research UK and the NHS say?

Cancer Research UK's page on graviola, last reviewed 21 October 2022, says there is "not enough reliable evidence that it works as a treatment for cancer", that the research so far has mainly been laboratory research, that no reputable scientific cancer organisation supports the claims made for it online, and that "you could harm your health if you stop your cancer treatment for an unproven treatment".¹¹ The NHS advises telling your doctor about any complementary or alternative therapy, and checking with a pharmacist before taking a herbal product alongside medicines.¹¹

What are the risks during cancer treatment?

Three are documented, none in a trial. First, interactions: no study has tested soursop alongside chemotherapy, immunotherapy or targeted medicines, and the Trinidad survey's authors warned that herbs may interact with chemotherapy.⁶ Second, imaging: in rats, a leaf extract reduced the uptake of a technetium imaging agent in the kidney, bladder and blood, a theoretical reason to mention any product before a scan.⁷ Third, the nervous system: in the French Caribbean, soursop consumption is associated with an atypical parkinsonism, and extracts of commercially sold Annonaceae supplements were toxic to human neurons in culture; no agency has set a safe intake.^{8, 9, 12} The record is on annonacin, soursop and parkinsonism.

Why may no UK seller advertise soursop for cancer?

Because two laws forbid it. Section 4 of the Cancer Act 1939 makes it an offence to take part in publishing an advertisement offering cancer treatment, a cancer remedy, or advice in connection with cancer treatment; the defences cover publications aimed at doctors, nurses and pharmacists, not shops.¹⁰ Food law adds a second bar: assimilated Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Article 7(3), says food information "shall not attribute to any food the property of preventing, treating or curing a human disease, nor refer to such properties", and Article 7(4) extends that to advertising and presentation; the advertising code's rule 15.6.2 applies the same prohibition to adverts.¹⁰ So a UK label, website or post that links a soursop product to cancer is breaking the law, whatever the product.

If you or someone you love is taking it

Tell the cancer team, including the pharmacist, exactly what is being taken and how often; nobody will be judged for asking. Do not stop or delay any treatment on the strength of a product claim. Questions that help: could this interact with my medicines; does it matter before my scan or my bloods; is there anything in my history, such as a neurological condition, that makes it a bad idea. Cancer Research UK and Macmillan Cancer Support both run nurse-staffed helplines for exactly these conversations.¹¹

What we don't know

• Whether any soursop preparation changes any cancer outcome in people: never measured.^{2, 3}
• Whether the two registered trials were completed: neither has posted results.³
• Whether soursop interacts with any cancer medicine: no study.

Frequently asked questions

Should you take soursop if you have cancer?

That is a question for your cancer team, who know your medicines and your scans. The evidence of benefit in people is a laboratory marker in 28 patients; the interaction and nervous-system risks are untested in people.^{3, 8}

Is soursop fruit effective against cancer?

No human study has tested the fruit against any cancer outcome. Eating the fruit occasionally as food is a food choice, not a treatment, and the exposure studies counted fruit as well as tea.⁸

Are there any clinical trials of graviola in cancer?

Two registered, neither reporting: a Puerto Rican leaf-tea study whose status has been unknown since February 2021, and an Australian 24-patient safety pilot that had not started recruiting at its last update.³

Can soursop be taken with chemotherapy?

Nobody has tested the combination. Tell the team before taking any soursop product, and before a scan.^{6, 7}

Sources

1. Rady I, et al. Mechanistic review of laboratory and animal studies of Annona muricata extracts in cancer models. Narrative review. Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity, 2018. PubMed 30151067.
2. Obregón-La Rosa AJ, et al. Pharmacological properties of Annona muricata as an alternative therapy in cancer treatment: systematic review. 10 studies, all cell or animal. Uniciencia, 2024. doi.org/10.15359/ru.38-1.29.
3. Indrawati L, et al. Annona muricata leaf extract, nutritional status and cytotoxicity in colorectal cancer. Randomised placebo-controlled trial, 30 enrolled, 28 completed, 8 weeks. Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2017. PubMed 28582808. Registered trials without results, records checked 17 October 2026: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04773769 (single group, 54 planned, leaf tea; status unknown since February 2021); ANZCTR ACTRN12622001288718 (phase 1 pilot, 24 planned, leaf powder capsule, hospital-funded; not yet recruiting at last update 4 October 2022).
4. Serretta V, et al. Oral ellagic acid and Annona muricata in non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Prospective non-randomised study, 162 evaluable patients, 6 months. Urologia, 2022. PubMed 34075841.
5. Chan WJ, et al. The safety and tolerability of Annona muricata leaf extract. Systematic review of cell, animal and human studies to April 2019. Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, 2020. PubMed 31659754.
6. Clement YN, et al. Herbal remedies and functional foods used by cancer patients in Trinidad. Cross-sectional survey, 150 patients. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2016. PubMed 27769229.
7. Holanda CM, et al. Influence of Annona muricata on biodistribution of radiopharmaceuticals in rats. Animal study, 24 rats; student grant funding. Acta Cirúrgica Brasileira, 2014. PubMed 24626725.
8. Cleret de Langavant L, et al. Annonaceae consumption and severity in degenerative parkinsonism. Observational, 180 patients; non-commercial funding. Movement Disorders, 2022. PubMed 36210778.
9. Höllerhage M, et al. Neurotoxicity of dietary supplements from Annonaceae species. Cell culture; two authors at the US FDA. International Journal of Toxicology, 2015. PubMed 26405269.
10. Cancer Act 1939, section 4. legislation.gov.uk; Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 as assimilated, Article 7. legislation.gov.uk. Both read 17 October 2026.
11. Cancer Research UK. Graviola (soursop). Last reviewed 21 October 2022. cancerresearchuk.org; NHS. Complementary and alternative medicine. nhs.uk; NHS. Herbal medicines and complementary therapies. Reviewed 1 May 2026. nhs.uk.
12. Agency assessments. AFSSA (now ANSES). Avis relatif aux risques liés à la consommation de corossol et de ses préparations, saisine 2008-SA-0171, 28 April 2010 (French). anses.fr. Raclariu-Manolica AC, Bakhiya N, Hirsch-Ernst KI. Risk assessment regarding the use of Annona muricata in food supplements. EU-FORA technical report, 2020; EFSA fellowship funding. EFSA Journal, 2020. doi.org.

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