Fenben lab fenbendazole is a broad-spectrum, safe, benzimidazole anthelminthic that has been used in many animal species for decades to treat various gastrointestinal parasites. It also has been shown to have antitumor activity in human cancer cells and is a candidate for repurposing as a new, more effective cancer drug. However, repurposing veterinary drugs for human use requires thorough safety evaluations and proper administration.
A video of an unlicensed veterinarian has resurfaced on TikTok and Facebook, depicting a Canadian patient who claimed that taking fenbendazole (FZ) had cured his small-cell lung cancer. The videos have been debunked as fraudulent by Sheila Singh, a director of McMaster’s Centre for Discovery in Cancer Research.
In our laboratory, we have been investigating the antitumor properties of fenbendazole. In a variety of cell types, we have found that fenbendazole inhibits the polymerization of tubulin, which is a component of microtubules, structures that give shape and support to cells. This property of fenbendazole is similar to that of several cytotoxic anticancer agents.
We have also conducted rigorous radiation experiments to determine whether the fenbendazole antitumor effect is influenced by irradiation. The time to four-fold tumor volume for irradiated and unirradiated control mice was measured. We found that treatment with fenbendazole does not influence the radiation response of EMT6 cells. This was consistent with our previous results, showing that continuous fenbendazole does not alter the growth of irradiated tumors. These experiments also showed that fenbendazole does not increase the sensitivity of irradiated cells to docetaxel.fenben lab fenbendazol