Fenbendazole Cures Cancer

Fenbendazole is a potent and relatively safe antiparasitic medication that has long been used to treat intestinal parasites in dogs and other species of animals. It has a wide spectrum of activity, with efficacy against several rounds of roundworms, hookworms, whipworms, lungworms, flukes, and Giardia in canines as well as several tapeworms (notably Taenia, Dipylidium and Blastosporidia) in small animals such as rabbits, ferrets and guinea pigs. It also has a strong track record for safety and effectiveness in humans (Ann Trop Med Parasitol, 1976 Jun;70(2):205-11) and is currently licensed to be given to people at doses of up to 1.5 g per day to control ascaris, hookworm, and trichuris infections.

It is a benzimidizole, which is part of a class of drugs that have been shown to effectively treat parasites by inhibiting their metabolism and allowing the cells they infest to die. This is how anthelmintics work – they kill the parasites by poisoning them, which also destroys any healthy cells that happen to be nearby. Cancer is a disease of uncontrolled cell growth, which means that chemotherapy can also be cytotoxic to healthy tissue as well as the cancerous cells. This is why chemo must be carefully monitored, as too little can do nothing, and too much can devastate the body's blood cells, which are critical to maintaining life.

One of the reasons why cancer is so hard to cure is that it is a very rapid cell-growing organism. Chemotherapy, which essentially floods the body with toxic chemicals, is very effective against cancerous cells, but it also destroys healthy ones and can lead to lethal side effects like hair loss, vomiting, diarrhea, and even death. Ideally, a treatment could be developed that was more selective for cancerous cells and less likely to damage normal cells. This is what led to the development of targeted therapies.

In an in vitro colony formation assay, fenbendazole was found to reduce the number of EMT6 tumor cells by inhibiting their ability to grow and replicate. However, high concentrations and prolonged incubation times were required to see this effect. Further, fenbendazole did not affect the dose-response curves of radiation or docetaxel, indicating that it does not enhance the radiosensitivity of hypoxic tumors.

However, a more recent study showed that fenbendazole, along with albendazole and metronidazole, reduced the growth of paclitaxel-resistant tumors in vitro and in vivo. This suggests that a general class of benzimidizoles may be able to sensitize tumor cells to the antineoplastic effects of certain medications.

Can fenbendazole cure cancer?

While it is not yet clear whether fenbendazole will be an effective treatment for cancer, its proven efficacy as an antiparasitic agent combined with the fact that it does reduce the toxicity of certain types of cancer treatments should make it worth further investigation. This is particularly important, since a number of patients with resistant tumors have already been treated successfully with combinations of traditional therapies. As with all other treatments, though, a consultation with your veterinarian is crucial to ensure that this medication is safe and effective for your dog.fenbendazole cures cancer