Fenben for humans is a deworming medication currently used to treat parasitic worms in animals. It is used in horses, cattle and other animals to control tapeworms, hookworms, roundworms and whipworms. However, recent videos on TikTok and Facebook have sparked controversy about a veterinarian’s claim that fenben can cure cancer. The repurposing of anthelminthic pleiotropic benzimidazole carbamate (BZ) group drugs for anticancer activity has opened new avenues in cancer therapy. Fenbendazole is a member of this class and exhibits strong anticancer activities in both in vitro and in vivo (animal models) studies.

Upon treating human non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) cells with fenbendazole, the drug induced partial alteration of microtubule networks and apoptosis via the p21 pathway. In addition, it inhibited the growth of H4IIE hepatocellular carcinoma cells in a dose-dependent manner and downregulated their G1/S and G2/M phase transitions. Furthermore, fenbendazole depleted glucose uptake in cancer cells by downregulation of GLUT transporters and key glycolytic enzymes.

Researchers from NCHGSR, in a series of experiments, examined the effects of fenbendazole on human NSCLC cells and mouse xenograft tumours. When fenbendazole was administered to xenograft tumours in mice, the drug progressively inhibited tumour growth. Additionally, the treatment resulted in significant decreases in tumour size and weight. This was achieved through moderate microtubule disruption, p53 stabilization and interference with glucose metabolism leading to preferential elimination of cancer cells both in vitro and in vivo. This was due to down regulation of hexokinase II (HK II), a key glycolytic enzyme that is often mutated in many cancer cells. fenben for humans