A video circulating on TikTok and Facebook shows a veterinarian who claims a common antiparasitic drug, fenbendazole, cures cancer. While many studies have shown that fenbendazole can slow cancer growth in cell cultures and animals, randomized clinical trials are needed to confirm these findings in humans.
Fenbendazole is a moderate microtubule depolymerizing agent that causes cancer cell death through multiple pathways. It can induce autophagy through beclin-1 and increase oxidative stress via glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4)-dependent ferroptosis in colorectal cancer cells.
It Kills Cancer Cells
Scientists have found that fenbendazole and other benzimidazole drugs—which are used as antiparasitics in animals and humans—can slow cancer growth in cell cultures and mice. A viral video on TikTok and Facebook purports that a dog deworming drug called fenbendazole cures advanced lung cancer, but it hasn’t been proven in randomized clinical trials to be an effective treatment for human cancer.
In experiments using wild-type and 5-fluorouracil resistant colorectal cancer cells (SNU-C5), fenbendazole reduced the viability of both cell types. Western blot analysis showed that it increased Beclin-1 expression, induced ferroptosis and apoptosis, and inhibited the G2/M transition in SNU-C5 cells.
The researchers then administered fenbendazole in a therapeutic diet or three daily injections to BALB/c mice bearing EMT6 tumors in the liver, colon, and kidney. The intensive treatments, which included severe hypoxia and high concentrations of the drug, caused significant cytotoxicity to the tumors. When the drug was combined with radiation or docetaxel, it enhanced the dose-response curves of both agents and increased their sensitivity to hypoxia.
It Kills Parasites
Fenbendazole is a broad-spectrum benzimidazole carbamate drug approved for use in various animal species as a parasite and worm treatment. It’s also the primary ingredient in the Joe Tippens cancer protocol, a treatment that has been promoted on TikTok and Facebook by veterinarian Dr. Terry Jones, who has severing links with the CVBC. However, there’s no evidence the drug cures cancer in humans.
Textbook depictions of cells often portray them as amorphous bags of fluid, but they actually establish their shape and structure through a protein scaffolding known as the cytoskeleton. The cytoskeleton’s main component is microtubules, which form in the cell’s nucleus and are assembled and disassembled as the cell needs to change shape or move cargo within the body.
In a lab study, scientists found that fenbendazole disrupts the formation of microtubules in cancer cells, causing them to lose their structural integrity and die. The drug also interferes with glucose metabolism, which is essential for cancer cells to fuel their growth and evade existing treatments such as chemotherapy.
It Kills Lymphoma Cells
The drug kills lymphoma cells by interfering with their mitotic spindle. This is the structure that ensures that chromosomes are evenly separated during cell division (mitosis). In cancer cells, mitotic spindles can cause errors that lead to mutations and other types of abnormalities. Drugs that interfere with microtubules can inhibit mitosis and thus prevent cellular growth and reproduction.
Researchers have examined fenbendazole and other benzimidazole anthelmintic agents as potential anticancer drugs. However, they haven’t found enough evidence to confirm that they can treat cancer in humans.
Posts on social media have claimed that a dog deworming medication called fenbendazole cures cancer in humans. But these claims are based on anecdotes, and there’s insufficient evidence that the drug cures cancer in people. To arrive at reliable conclusions, randomized controlled trials would need to be performed. The American man who inspired the fenbendazole craze, Joe Tippens, had been taking the drug in conjunction with conventional cancer treatments. As a result, it’s impossible to attribute his remission to the medication alone.
It Kills Other Cells
Fenbendazole is an anti-parasitic medication typically used to treat parasitic worm infections in animals like horses. It is tolerated well by humans and appears to be effective against cancer cells, particularly when combined with vitamins.
Researchers studied how the drug affects cancer cell growth and found that it caused a reduction in glucose uptake. This is important because many cancers use glucose for energy. Additionally, the drug was found to increase p53 expression and to trigger other cellular death mechanisms like apoptosis, autophagy, and ferroptosis.
In one study, a human cancer patient claimed that fenbendazole helped cure his small-cell lung cancer. The anecdotal evidence is intriguing, but more research is needed before the medication can be considered a true treatment for fenbendazole for cancer