Fenbendazole (FZ) is a broad-spectrum benzimidazole anthelmintic agent with antiparasitic and antitumor activity. It has been shown to inhibit microtubule-associated tubulin polymerization and block cell-cycle progression. This mechanism of action is similar to that of cytotoxic anticancer agents.
An 80-year-old woman who claimed that her cancer went into remission after she started taking Fenbendazole on her own based on social media reports was recently hospitalized with severe liver dysfunction. The patient, whose name is not publicized, was being treated for nonsmall cell lung cancer with pembrolizumab at the time of her hepatitis.
In this study, we used cell culture models and patient-derived colon cancer organoids to investigate the anticancer effects of fenbendazole. We found that fenbendazole induces G2/M arrest via p53-p21 pathways in both 5-FU sensitive and resistant colorectal cancer (CRC) cells. In addition, it promotes cell death by enhancing apoptosis and ferroptosis in CRC cells, whereas it enhances apoptosis but not necroptosis or autophagy in 5-FU-resistant cells. Severe hypoxia enhanced the toxicity of 2-h treatments with fenbendazole, but survival curves did not differ significantly from those for controls or cultures treated in air. The results suggest that fenbendazole might be a useful cancer chemotherapeutic agent and could be combined with hypoxia-selective nitroheterocyclic cytotoxic agents or taxanes.fenbendazole for cancer