Fenben Cancer Treatment Could Lead to New Treatments
Fenben is an antihelminthic drug that works to prevent parasites from developing and spreading. However, it is now known to cause cancer cells to die by inhibiting a series of cellular pathways. This is a major finding that could lead to new and more effective treatments for the disease.
In addition, fenben cancer treatment is a great example of “drug repurposing.” This term describes the use of drugs developed to treat one condition – in this case, intestinal parasite infestations – that are later found to be effective against other conditions as well. It is estimated that it would cost more than $1 billion to discover and develop a new drug, so repurposing existing drugs can be a cost-effective way to treat many different conditions simultaneously.
The fenben craze began in September when a YouTube user posted a video about Joe Tippens, an Oklahoma man who claimed that he cured his terminal lung cancer by using a combination of the antiparasitic drug and x-rays. The post went viral and spawned a movement promoting the use of the drug as an alternative cancer treatment.
Scientists have conducted numerous experiments to examine the effectiveness of fenben cancer treatment. A 2018 study published in Scientific Reports observed that the drug, along with mebendazole (another antihelminthic medication), blocked cancer cell growth in laboratory animals. A 2021 press release from Johns Hopkins Medicine reported that the drug had similar anticancer effects when administered to human cellular cultures in vitro.
In both cases, fenben is found to interfere with the formation of microtubules – the structures that give cells their shape and enables them to move and divide. The drug also has a number of other mechanisms that promote cancer cell death. For example, fenben interferes with glucose uptake by blocking expression of the GLUT transporters. It also reduces the activity of hexokinase II, which is needed to convert glucose into energy for cell growth.
It was also discovered that fenben induces apoptosis and arrests the cell cycle in CRC cells. The anticancer effects of the drug are mediated by both p53-dependent and -independent apoptosis and by ferroptosis in 5-FU-sensitive CRC cells, but not in 5-FU resistant CRC cells.
It was further found that fenbendazole, when given to mice with EMT6 tumors in their liver, significantly reduced the growth of those tumors and decreased the amount of radiation-induced damage to the surrounding tissues. Tumors in the fenbendazole-treated mice were smaller and had fewer lymph node metastases than those in control mice. The results were the same whether or not fenbendazole was given in conjunction with x-rays or without it. No evidence was found that fenbendazole prevented cancer recurrence or boosted the effect of other conventional treatments. It did not, however, reduce the number of new cancerous tumors that formed in untreated mice.fenben cancer treatment