Fenbendazole is a medication that is normally used to treat parasites and worms (roundworms, hookworms, whipworms, and some tapeworms) in dogs, cats, horses, and other animals. It is also a drug that is being used by some humans to cure cancer, as part of a treatment method known as the Joe Tippens Protocol. In this article, we will discuss fenbendazole and its potential to cure cancer, as well as some of the limited research that has been done on this topic.
The anti-proliferative effects of fenbendazole in human colorectal cancer cells were investigated. 2-h fenbendazole treatment did not affect the proliferation of aerobic EMT6 cells, while 24-h fenbendazole significantly reduced the clonogenicity of both SNU-C5 and SNU-C5/5-FUR CRC cell lines, compared with controls.
These results suggest that fenbendazole exhibits time-dependent anti-proliferative activity in both human CRC cell lines and in vivo human CRC tumours, which could be mediated by a partial alteration of microtubule network around the nucleus. In addition, fenbendazole enhances the sensitivity of human cancer cells to radiation and docetaxel through activation of autophagy, a process that involves the degradation of cellular debris.
Further, the fenbendazole treatment of human cancer cells in vitro induced autophagy through Beclin-1 activation. This autophagy effect was enhanced by the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway. The results indicate that fenbendazole may have therapeutic applications as an alternative or a supplementary agent to chemotherapeutic agents in CRC patients. fenbendazole cures cancer
