Fenben is an antihelmintic medication, originally prescribed to treat parasitic worms, that has been repurposed as a cancer treatment. It kills tumor cells, prevents them from reproducing and can help shrink cancerous masses. It is not a cure, however, and it is unlikely to stop recurrence of the disease in people with existing cancers.
To evaluate the anti-cancer effects of fenbendazole in 5-fluorouracil (FU) resistant colorectal cancer cells, a variety of cell death pathways were assessed by flow cytometry and Western blotting. The viability of wild-type and p53 mutant SNU-C5 CRC cells was also determined. Fenbendazole induced G2/M phase arrest and apoptosis in both FU sensitive and resistant CRC cells. However, apoptosis was more dependent on the p53 pathway in FU-sensitive cells. Cell death in FU-resistant SNU-C5 cells was partly due to ferroptosis, autophagy and necroptosis.
This is the first case report of a woman with advanced NSCLC who self-administered fenbendazole, in order to try to cure her cancer and get back her health. In this case, the patient reported that her fibrosis and cysts reduced in size, and she no longer had pain. She was able to discontinue chemotherapy. She did not have a recurrence of the cancer, but her tumor markers did not return to normal. She died of other causes. There is no evidence that fenbendazole would cause the same effects in other patients, nor that it could help with any other type of cancer. fenben