While there is no evidence that fenben for humans cures cancer, it may prevent the return of the disease or help fight it. This is because the drug is an animal anthelmintic and interferes with multiple cell pathways in human cancer patients.
It has been shown to stop cancer cells from absorbing glucose, which is what they need to grow. It does this by disrupting MT dynamics, activating p53 and regulating genes involved in multiple cellular pathways.
It Inhibits Glucose Intake
Fenbendazole (FZ) is a broad-spectrum benzimidazole carbamate anthelminthic drug used to treat parasites and worms in animals. It also has antitumor effects and is being tested for cancer treatment. ”
In experiments with two different types of cancer cells, fenbendazole interfered with their ability to take in glucose for energy. This slowed their growth and led to them dying off. The researchers believe this could be a key way to treat cancer patients.
This is because fenbendazole disrupts the microtubules, which inhibits cellular processes. It also stops cancer cells from absorbing glucose, starving them.
The research team also found that fenbendazole can block the expression of GLUT 4, which helps cancer cells absorb glucose. This impedes the linear movement of GLUT 4 across the microtubule, dramatically decreasing insulin-fueled sugar absorption in cells. This also decreases glycogen stores and ATP formation. This makes fenbendazole an ideal candidate for repurposing as an anti-cancer drug. The repurposing process involves taking existing veterinary drugs that have shown promising results and turning them into human medications.
It Inhibits Multiple Cell Pathways
The effectiveness of fenbendazole is due to its pleiotropic action on multiple cell pathways. These actions lead to the effective elimination of cancer cells. Its microtubule interfering activity and p53 activation result in apoptosis. It also inhibits glucose uptake and expression of GLUT transporters and hexokinase II, which starves cancer cells.
Furthermore, it inhibits glycolytic changes and oxidative stress by reducing the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS). This is how it eliminates cancer cells and prevents them from growing.
In a study on human tumors, the authors found that fenbendazole can significantly reduce the growth of lung and colon cancer. The results were based on the number of colonies that formed after two and 24 hours of treatment with varying concentrations of the drug. These results were compared with those of control cultures. The treatment was also analyzed to determine whether or not it was toxic to normal cells. The results showed that fenbendazole was less toxic than control treatments.
It Inhibits the Growth of Cancer Cells
Fenbendazole, which is currently used in veterinary medicine to treat parasitic worms like whipworms, hookworms, and one species of tapeworm, has shown a lot of promise as a possible cancer treatment. Its broad-spectrum antiparasitic activity, microtubule depolymerizing activity, and ability to suppress glucose uptake in cancer cells all make it a potentially valuable drug for fighting certain types of tumors.
In three separate experiments, fenbendazole (FZ) was administered via diet or three daily injections into mice bearing EMT6 tumors. Neither unirradiated nor irradiated tumors responded to the fenbendazole therapy.
Researchers found that FZ reduced the growth of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) H4IIE cells through p21-mediated cell cycle arrest and GLUT 4 inhibition. It also inhibited glucose uptake in cancer cells by blocking the GLUT transporters and restricting insulin-stimulated glycolysis. Eventually, this starved cancer cells and caused them to die. The results were published in Scientific Reports. The research team concludes that fenbendazole is an ideal candidate for repurposing as an anticancer agent.
It Has No Side Effects
Fenbendazole has been found to be well tolerated by humans. It’s a drug that’s used as part of the Joe Tippens Cancer Protocol, which recommends 222 mg of the medication taken seven days a week with food. It’s available as oral granules or liquid suspension. It’s important not to mix it with other medications.
Research shows that fenbendazole works as a cancer treatment by disrupting microtubules and stabilizing the p53 gene. These are both underlying mechanisms for the preferential elimination of cancer cells by the medication.
Fenbendazole is also known to interact with a specific location on tubulin, and it’s capable of enhancing the anti-tumor effects of other chemotherapy drugs, such as berberine and sodium dichloroacetate (DCA). Currently, this anthelmintic is only approved for use in livestock and dogs. Veterinary compounding companies can make the drug available for cats, dogs, horses and other exotic species.