Fenbendazole is an antiparasitic drug, used to treat parasitic infections in people and animals. It also inhibits cancer cell growth in lab experiments, and some anecdotal reports say that it has helped patients with some types of cancer. But the nonprofit organization Cancer Research UK tells PolitiFact that fenbendazole isn’t a cure for cancer. It hasn’t been proven to work in clinical trials with human volunteers, and it can have dangerous side effects.
Fenbendazoles interfere with the formation of microtubules in cells, preventing them from separating evenly during cell division (mitosis). This makes it difficult for cells to divide and grow, and it also blocks important cellular functions such as DNA replication and protein production. Other drugs that act on the same chemical pathway as fenbendazole, such as metronidazole and tinidazole, also have anticancer effects.
A recent study found that fenbendazole reduced the growth of lung cancer cells in lab dishes, and it could kill certain types of cancer cells in mice. But scientists are still searching for ways to prove that the drug works in people.
It’s also not clear whether fenbendazole can be safely taken in high doses. Some patients have reported severe side effects, including liver damage and seizures, when taking fenbendazole alone. It’s best to use it under the guidance of an integrative healthcare professional who can help you create a treatment plan that minimizes the risks.
To examine the effect of fenbendazole on human cancer cell lines, we dissolved a formulated fenbendazole analytical standard and three samples with different LOT numbers from two commercial brands of fenbendazole powder in hydrochloric methanol (0.4% v/v). Dissolution and LC-MS analyses of the resulting solution showed that the fenbendazole exhibited significant cytotoxic activity against all seven of the cancer cell lines tested. The cytotoxic effect was not affected by the presence of DMSO, ethanol, or hydrochloric acid in the solvent system. Moreover, the fenbendazole samples demonstrated comparable cytotoxicity to a reference drug, vinblastine. fenbendazole for humans cancer
