Fenbendazole For Humans Cancer Has Potent Anti-Cancer Effects

A commonly used anti-parasitic drug, fenbendazole for humans cancer has been found to have strong anti-cancer effects in lab experiments. Researchers discovered that the benzimidazole drug has potent anti-cancer activity, and could be used in combination with other drugs to treat cancer. The study is published in Scientific Reports.

The researchers studied a case of an 80-year-old woman who was treated with pembrolizumab monotherapy for advanced non-small cell lung cancer. She developed severe liver injury 9 months after starting pembrolizumab. Interviews with the patient and her family revealed that she had been taking oral fenbendazole, a benzimidazole medication used as an anthelmintic for dogs, based on information from social media sources that suggested it was effective against cancer. Her fenbendazole use was subsequently discontinued, and her liver injury spontaneously resolved.

When fenbendazole was administered to human colorectal cancer cells, it caused them to stop proliferating. They also observed that fenbendazole inhibited glucose uptake into the cells, and induced autophagy and necroptosis. The fenbendazole-induced necroptosis was mediated by the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt signalling pathway, and was associated with a decrease in cytochrome c expression.

The researchers then tested fenbendazole on pancreatic tumours in mice, which were genetically engineered to develop early and late stage pancreatic cancer. The researchers discovered that fenbendazole significantly decreased tumour size and weight, and induced apoptosis of the tumours. Gregory Riggins, a neurosurgery and oncology professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, is one of the authors of the study. He has disclosed that he is an inventor on intellectual property related to mebendazole owned by Benizole Therapeutics, PBC and that his financial interest in the company has been declared.