Dog Dewormer for Cancer: An Unproven Treatment
A veterinarian’s viral videos have raised eyebrows by suggesting that a cheap, common pet medicine could be used to treat some kinds of human cancer. But while the antiparasitic medication fenbendazole, sold under such brands as Safe Guard and Panacur, shows promise in some cases, it’s still an experimental cancer therapy and not a proven cure.
The claims in the videos reposted on Facebook and TikTok center on a case involving a man named Joe Tippens, who was diagnosed with late-stage lung cancer and given three months to live in 2016. He said that after his diagnosis, he turned to something his doctor didn’t approve of – dog medicine. He started taking a dog dewormer called fenbendazole, also known as Panacur. Tippens is now alive, and his story has left doctors scratching their heads.
His story was picked up by news outlets around the world, including the BBC. The video has been viewed millions of times, and some people have taken to social media to share their own personal stories. Many of them have used fenbendazole or another drug that works similarly, such as albendazole, to treat their cancers.
But the claims in these videos are misleading and potentially dangerous. Fenbendazole has been studied as an experimental cancer treatment in lab animals, and it appears to suppress tumors by interfering with the growth of microtubules. These are the structures that give shape to all cells. They’re important to cell division, and in normal cells, they’re stabilized by protein spindles. In cancer cells, these spindles are often out of control.
Cancers are a serious threat to the health and well-being of humans, and they kill 2 million Americans every year. But they’re hard to treat — chemo, radiation and surgery can shrink tumors but not all cancers respond to these treatments. Developing new drugs to stimulate the immune system to fight these diseases is a top priority in the scientific community.
While research into dog dewormer for cancer is ongoing, it’s unlikely that this will ever become an approved therapy for any cancers. For now, patients should continue to get their treatment from physicians and follow the guidelines of the National Cancer Institute.
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