Developing new drugs can take years. But fenbendazole, which is already a widely used anthelmintic drug, may offer cancer-fighting benefits.

It inhibits the polymerization of tubulin, which makes up microtubules that provide shape and structure to cells. It’s also known to interfere with the glucose uptake of cancer cells.

Antiparasitic

Fenbendazole is used to treat parasites and worms (roundworms, hookworms, whipworms, and some tapeworms) in animals. It is the main ingredient in dog wormers like Pancur and Safe-Guard. It gained fame when Joe Tippens claimed he cured his late-stage lung cancer by taking this drug while undergoing another anti-cancer trial. But the claim is false, and fenbendazole does not cure cancer in humans.

A few preclinical studies have found that anthelmintics, which are used to treat parasites in animals, may also have anticancer effects. However, they do not yet have enough evidence to support their use in human patients. A specialist cancer information nurse from Cancer Research UK told Full Fact that there is no proof fenbendazole can kill or prevent cancer. She said that while fenbendazole appears to show anticancer activity in cell and animal studies, it is not an approved treatment for cancer and has not been tested in humans.

A study found that fenbendazole suppressed the growth of human non-small cell lung cancer cells in culture. The drug prevented cancer cells from getting enough energy to grow by blocking their ability to take up glucose, which is an essential fuel for them. It did this by blocking the formation of microtubules, structures that provide structure to all living things. These studies also showed that fenbendazole had an additive effect when combined with radiation and docetaxel, a chemotherapy drug.

Antitumor

Fenbendazole is an antiparasitic drug, but it also has anti-tumor effects in cancer cells. The anthelmintic inhibits the growth of cancer cells by blocking cell division and inducing apoptosis. It also inhibits glucose uptake, which reduces the amount of energy available to the tumor.

Researchers have also found that fenbendazole disrupts microtubules, a critical component of the mitotic spindle that divides chromosomes during cell replication. This causes chromosomes to become misaligned and prevents them from being separated evenly during anaphase. The drug has also been shown to induce apoptosis in human non-small-cell lung cancer cells and in hepatocellular carcinoma cells.

A recent study by researchers at the National Centre for Human Genome Studies and Research in Panjab University, India, found that fenbendazole inhibits tumor growth in mice. The researchers fed the mice a high-fenbendazole diet and measured their tumors at the end of 12 days. They found that the mice had smaller tumors and lost weight, suggesting that fenbendazole was effective in suppressing tumour growth.

This finding is consistent with earlier reports from other research groups that fenbendazole reduces tumour size in mice. However, these reports have not been replicated in humans. These results suggest that fenbendazole may be a promising candidate for the treatment of cancer, but further research is required before it can be used as a clinical therapy.

Antiviral

Fenbendazole has antiviral effects in cell cultures. It inhibits BoHV-1 productive infection and increases apoptosis. It also decreases the levels of viral IE gene expression, suggesting that it may be an effective treatment for HSV-1 and other herpesviruses. In addition, it has a low toxicity and a high margin of safety in experimental animals. This makes it an ideal candidate for drug repurposing.

The methyl N-(6-phenylsulfanyl-1H-benzimidazol-2-yl)carbamate in fenbendazole acts on the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway and affects cell cycle progression. It can also inhibit the expression of eukaryotic proteins. This effect is caused by inhibition of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) activity and dephosphorylation of protein kinase B. It also decreases cellular ATP production and inhibits glucose uptake. It also suppresses proliferation of cancer cells and induces apoptosis. Its cytotoxic activities can be enhanced by targeting multiple cellular targets.

Using a time-of-addition assay, MDBK cells pretreated with DMSO or fenbendazole were infected with BoHV-1 at an MOI of one for 24 h. The virus tegument protein VP16 was detected in the MDBK cells. The expression of the VP16 protein was reduced by fenbendazole at 12 hpi, but not at 24 hpi. Similarly, the expression of a, b, and e protein was also reduced by fenbendazole, but g protein expression was not affected. GAPDH protein expression was used as a loading control.

Toxicity

An antiparasitic drug that is widely used in the veterinary field, fenbendazole, may have an unexpected role as an anticancer agent. It has been found to inhibit the growth of human non-small cell lung cancer cells, and has also shown synergistic effects in combination with other chemotherapeutic agents. Researchers have also discovered that it reduces tumour volume by inhibiting glucose uptake. This finding suggests that fenbendazole is able to overcome resistance that commonly arises in cancer therapy.

To test the effectiveness of fenbendazole, it was administered to human ‘non-small cell lung cancer’ (NSCLC) cells in vitro. This resulted in a partial alteration of the microtubule network around the nucleus, and increased the cells’ susceptibility to radiation-induced apoptosis. In addition, fenbendazole reduced tumour volume in mice by inhibiting glucose uptake into cancer cells.

A patient with advanced NSCLC was treated with a combination of drugs, including fenbendazole, in an attempt to eradicate the tumours. The patient experienced significant tumour reduction and improvement in her overall health. However, her tumours recurred after the discontinuation of fenbendazole. This case highlights the need for physicians to monitor patients who self-administer dietary supplements and herbal remedies.

Researchers from Panjab University in India have discovered that a broad-spectrum anti-parasitic drug called fenbendazole has the potential to be an effective anti-cancer drug. It is already widely used to treat parasitic worms in animals, including horses. The results of the research were published in Scientific Reports. fenbendazole for humans