Many cancer patients turn to alternative medicine to try and beat their disease. A common belief is that anthelmintic drugs used to treat parasites could cure cancer. The claim has even been backed by some researchers, with one study claiming that mebendazole and fenbendazole (both benzimidazole drugs) can slow tumour growth in humans.
The benzimidazole drugs interfere with the activity of microtubules, which are responsible for cell division during mitosis. During mitosis, chromosomes are lined up in a structure called the mitotic spindle before being divided equally between each daughter cell during anaphase. The spindle is held together by structures known as the spindle poles, and they are made of a protein called tubulin. Drugs that disrupt tubulin polymerization can block the progression of cell division and cause the death of cancer cells.
In the case of fenbendazole, it is a moderate microtubule destabilizing agent, leading to p53-dependent mitotic arrest and subsequent cancer cell death. It also modulates genes involved in several cellular processes, including cell cycle regulation and glucose metabolism.
Fenbendazole has also been shown to have antitumor activities in other animal models, as well as in human cancer cells grown in the laboratory. A study published in 2018 in Scientific Reports found that fenbendazole, as well as mebendazole and the related drug benzimidazole carbamate, can inhibit tumour progression in pancreatic cancer cells. Another study in 2021 by Johns Hopkins University researchers found that benzimidazole, another drug in the same family as fenbendazole, can inhibit the proliferation of breast cancer cells.
However, there is no evidence that fenbendazole can cure cancer in people. Although there are reports of anecdotal cases of people with cancer remissions, these results cannot be reliably attributed to fenbendazole. It is possible that the person was cured by other conventional treatments, or other factors such as diet and stress management.
A specialist cancer information nurse at Cancer Research UK told Full Fact that fenbendazole has not been proven as a reliable cancer treatment in clinical trials. A clinical trial involves a large group of people receiving different treatments and being monitored over time for their effect on their health. The most reliable way to find out whether a treatment works is by performing randomized controlled trials involving a group of people who are randomly allocated to either a placebo or the actual treatment.
In short, while fenbendazole can slow the growth of cancer cells in cell cultures and animals, it hasn’t been proven to kill cancer in humans. It’s also important to remember that just because a drug shows promise in animal studies doesn’t mean it will work in humans. It could be toxic, or the results might not be reproducible in other humans. fenben for cancer