Can a Dog Dewormer Cure Cancer?

A Canadian veterinarian’s viral videos claiming a dog dewormer cures cancer have some skeptics scratching their heads. But Joe Tippens says his unconventional treatment did the trick, and has doctors and oncologists wondering how he pulled it off. Almost a year ago, the cancer-stricken Joe Tippens was told his prognosis was grim. He was given a few months to live. In a desperate attempt to survive, the Ontario man turned to something his vet gave him—dog dewormer. The fenbendazole, which goes by the commercial brand name Panacur C, was prescribed to him along with CBD oil and curcumin (Tumeric). “It’s not a magic pill,” he said in an interview with Fox News, but he claims his PET scan was clear after only three months. “That was enough to change my whole outlook.” The video posted on TikTok and Facebook by Andrew Jones, a British Columbia veterinarian, has been reposted more than 11,000 times since it was first shared in February 2023. Jones claimed the anthelminthic drug, which is also used to treat worms in humans and animals, saved him from advanced lung cancer. Scientists are investigating fenbendazole and similar drugs from the benzimidazole carbamate group, including albendazole and mebendazole, as potential anticancer treatments in human patients. They have already shown promising results in preclinical models. Researchers believe the drugs work by blocking the growth of microtubules. These fibers give structure to cells and act as highways for transporting molecules. The drug inhibits tubulin’s formation, cutting off the cancer cell’s supply of nutrients and killing it. The benzimidazole drugs are approved to treat parasitic infections in pets and livestock, and they’ve been tested in mice to ensure they are safe for use as a human cancer treatment. A clinical trial of fenbendazole in humans is scheduled to begin later this year at the Ludwig Cancer Research Centre of Canada. The study will be led by Dr. Richard Riggins, who’s studying the drug’s effects on tumors in pancreatic and other organs. The study is funded by the Virginia and D.K. Ludwig Fund for Pancreatic Cancer Research.dewormer for cancer