A benzimidazole drug used as an animal anthelmintic, fenbendazole has been shown to have significant anti-carcinogenic activity in lab experiments. It has also been found to kill cancer cells in animal models by blocking the activation of mTOR. I believe fenbendazole has great potential as an alternative or complementary treatment for cancer patients.

Recently, an unlicensed veterinarian’s videos, promoting a deworming medicine for dogs as a cure for human cancer, have become popular on Facebook and TikTok. This led to a patient with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) self-administering fenbendazole, and she later died of severe liver injury. This case report aims to investigate whether fenbendazole can have anti-tumor effects on human cancer.

The results of this study show that cancer patients acquire medical information through various channels step by step. Most of the surveyed patients first obtained information on fenbendazole from acquaintances or family members, followed by TV and YouTube.

In addition, fenbendazole has potent anti-tumor activities in a variety of cancers and can overcome resistance to conventional therapies, such as 5-FU, through p53-p21-dependent cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, necroptosis, or autophagy. Furthermore, it can increase p53 expression and activate apoptosis in both wild-type and 5-FU-resistant SNU-C5 colorectal cancer cells.

Hence, we suggest that health professionals should enquire about whether patients are acquiring orally administered products that have received social attention, such as fenbendazole, and take appropriate action accordingly. It is also important to inform patients about the dangers of self-administration of fenbendazole, which can cause serious adverse reactions. fenbendazole for cancer