Fenbendazole, an antiparasitic drug used to treat parasitic infections in animals, has been shown to be effective in treating cancer cells in laboratory experiments. Researchers have also developed an optimized analog of fenbendazole that is more potent against cancer cells than normal cells without increasing its toxicity to normal cells, making it a promising candidate for further research into the use of fenbendazole as an anticancer agent.
An 80-year-old woman with advanced nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) self-administered the anthelmintic drug fenbendazole after reading social media reports that the drug was effective against her disease. Nine months later, she developed severe liver injury. The patient discontinued fenbendazole and the liver dysfunction resolved. This is the first report of an anecdotal case of NSCLC in which a patient knowingly self-administered a drug to treat their disease.
A broad-spectrum benzimidazole with wide antiparasitic activity, fenbendazole is known to disrupt cell growth and cause death by multiple mechanisms. For example, it interferes with cellular metabolism and induces oxidative stress, both of which are essential processes for cancer cell survival. It also inhibits the polymerization of tubulin, which is part of the microtubules that provide structure and support to cells. Tubulin is a target of cytotoxic anticancer agents, including the vinca alkaloids and taxanes.
In this study, we utilized EMT6 tumor cells in cell culture and mouse xenografts to assess the anticancer effects of fenbendazole alone or in combination with radiation and chemotherapy. The cytotoxicity of fenbendazole increased with dose and duration of treatment and was significantly increased under conditions of severe hypoxia. However, fenbendazole did not alter the dose-response curves of radiation or docetaxel in the mice, suggesting that the addition of this compound to established cancer treatments did not increase their antineoplastic efficacy.fenbendazole for cancer