Fenbendazole is a drug that was developed to deworm animals, but animal research revealed surprising additional benefits. It can also be used to prevent cancer cells from growing.
While anthelmintics are typically used in veterinary medicine, humans can tolerate doses up to 2,000 mg per day. However, it is important to discuss the benefits and risks with a medical professional.
Antiparasitic
Fenbendazole is a widely available, FDA-approved drug used to treat parasitic worms in pets and livestock. It is also found in anti-fungal drugs like pyrimethamine and nitazoxanide.
Research on cancer treatments often looks promising in cells and animal models, but it doesn’t prove a drug is safe or effective until it is tested in humans. A specialist cancer information nurse told Full Fact that there is no evidence that fenbendazole cures cancer.
In a study, scientists gave mice with EMT6 tumors three i.p. injections of fenbendazole or a placebo. They then x-rayed the mice to measure their tumor growth. The team found that the drug reduced tumor size by inhibiting proteins that prevent cells from using oxygen, which causes them to starve. The drugs also caused a reduction in inflammation, which helped the tumors to grow less quickly.
Antitumor
Fenbendazole is a broad-spectrum benzimidazole anthelmintic drug that exhibits antitumor activity by binding to the -tubulin microtubule subunits and disrupting polymerization. It also has a cytotoxic effect by modulating multiple cellular pathways.
Cells establish their structure and shape from a protein scaffold known as the cytoskeleton, which comprises microtubules. Cancer cells often contain a mutated version of this protein, making them resistant to the normal cytoskeleton’s building blocks.
The dog wormer ingredient fenbendazole suppresses cancer in lab tests of human cancer cells and in mice with tumours. However, Cancer Research UK says there’s insufficient evidence that it’s an effective cancer treatment for humans. The charity warns people not to self-administer fenbendazole, which hasn’t been tested in clinical trials. It can cause serious liver damage.
Immunomodulatory
Fenbendazole has been shown to interfere with the formation of microtubules in cancer cells and cause them to die. It also has cytostatic effects in cancer cell lines that are resistant to conventional anticancer agents such as vinca alkaloids and paclitaxel.
Mice bearing EMT6 tumors were randomized to receive three daily i.p. injections of fenbendazole or sterile phosphate-free physiologic saline and were then irradiated with 10 Gy of x-rays. Tumor volume and weight were then measured and compared between groups.
It’s important to note that there is no evidence that fenbendazole actually cures cancer in people. Studies using cancer cells and mice can often look promising, but it won’t be known if something is effective in humans until it’s been tested in clinical trials.
Antifungal
The drug cuts off the parasite’s supply of food by inhibiting the polymerization of tubulin. Tubulin is both the micro-skeleton of the inner cell and a highway for transporting nutrients. This mechanism is similar to the way cytotoxic anticancer drugs act.
While animal anthelmintics may have anticancer effects, no peer-reviewed study has found evidence that they cure human cancer. Moreover, Health Canada lists all anthelmintic medications as veterinary products. It’s unclear whether they could ever be approved as human treatments. But the research is promising. It’s worth a closer look. The drug might one day save lives. But it’s important to remember that established treatments kill cancer cells in different ways. The right drug for you depends on your type of cancer and what stage it’s at.
Antiviral
Researchers found that fenbendazole interferes with the same processes that viruses and cancer cells use to grow and spread. They hope to develop drugs based on the idea, which could shrink tumors and prevent them from spreading.
They also found that fenbendazole kills 5-fluorouracil-resistant SNU-C5 cells by disrupting the autophagy pathway and inducing ferroptosis-augmented apoptosis. This suggests that the antitumor effect of fenbendazole does not require p53 in hepatocellular carcinoma cells.
They conducted focus group interviews with lung cancer patients to find out how they acquired fenbendazole information and what they thought of it. Many patients said that they first heard about the drug from acquaintances or TV, and some had been advised to try it by their doctors. Nevertheless, the majority of the participants were not convinced about the effectiveness of this medication.fenbendazole for cancer
