While Health Canada lists fenben as a pet dewormer and not for cancer, animal anthelmintics such as metronidazole have been found to cure some patients with certain tumors. While researchers are pursuing turning the results of these animal studies into an approved human drug, the fact remains that some cancer patients are self-treating with fenben and effectively eradicating their own tumors.
A number of videos featuring people claiming to use fenben to cure cancer have been posted on YouTube and TikTok. Some of these videos have gone viral and prompted a debunking article on the McMaster University website.
Unlike normal cells, cancer cells consume glucose for energy. Benzimidazole compounds inhibit glycolysis by blocking the glucose uptake of the cell leading to death. This was confirmed in cell experiments using human NSCLC cells that showed that exposure to FZ significantly reduces the expression of the GLUT-4 transporter and also impairs the enzymatic activity of hexokinase II, which promotes glycolysis.
It is also known that fenben interferes with microtubule dynamics, activates p53 and induces the modulation of genes involved in multiple cellular pathways including mitochondrial apoptosis. This study also showed that FZ could inhibit the growth of human xenografts in nu/nu mice models and also suppressed their metastatic spread.
In addition, a recent study by Kipper et al found that fenbendazole (mebendazole) potentiates temozolomide in resistant gliomas and does not interfere with radiation or chemotherapy. It is thought that the mechanism by which this is achieved is that fenbendazole blocks the activation of the cell’s signaling pathway, ERK1/2. fenben for cancer