Fenbendazole is an anthelmintic medication that is used to treat parasitic infections. It has also been shown to suppress the growth of cancer cells in petri dishes and mice.
Fenbendazole exerts antitumor effects by inhibiting microtubule polymerization and destabilizing tumor cell cytoskeleton. It also promotes apoptosis, autophagy and ferroptosis in CRC cells.
Mechanisms of action
Fenbendazole is a member of the benzimidazole family of anti-neoplastic agents. It interferes with microtubule assembly and inhibits cyclin B1/CDK1 activity, a critical step in cell-cycle progression. Moreover, it induces mitotic catastrophe and blocks the expression of hexokinase II, which is responsible for metabolizing glucose, the primary energy source for cancer cells.
A number of mechanisms have been proposed to explain the anti-neoplastic effect of fenbendazole. The most common mechanism is that it prevents tubulin polymerization, which is essential for cellular growth and division. Another mechanism is that it interferes with cellular protein synthesis.
The fenbendazole scandal in 2020 has left bitter memories for Korean society, as official health communicators were unable to filter and control false information about complementary alternative medicine. Hence, it is important to understand how patients acquire information about this controversial topic. Our study showed that participants actively acquired information on fenbendazole through the media and YouTube. However, the information they obtained was fragmented and inconsistent as processed by the media.
Safety
There is no evidence that fenbendazole cures cancer, but it has been shown to slow the growth of tumor cells in test tubes. In addition, it is an antiparasitic drug that kills parasites. It also interferes with the process of cell division, which prevents chromosomes from being evenly separated during anaphase.
However, this anecdotal claim hasn’t stopped Joe Tippens from spreading the word on Facebook and TikTok. As a result, the false information about fenbendazole has spread and caused confusion among patients.
To understand this phenomenon, researchers surveyed cancer patients about the sources and quality of fenbendazole information. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to interview 21 lung cancer patients with various stages of disease. The questionnaire included three sections: 1) the acquisition channel of general and false information, 2) the quality of the obtained information, and 3) perceptions toward the information. The results revealed that cancer patients acquire information in a variety of ways, and they actively cross-check it through other media channels.
Dosage
Fenbendazole is a benzimidazole carbamate that has long been used as an antiparasitic drug. It has anthelmintic effects by binding to b-tubulin microtubule subunits and disrupting their polymerization. It has also been shown to reduce cancer cell proliferation in vitro.
The authors studied the effect of fenbendazole on EMT6 cancer cells in monolayer cultures. They used a standard colony formation assay to determine the number of cells that survived treatment. The results are shown in Figure 1. Survivals are expressed as yield-corrected surviving fractions and are normalized to the number of cells in untreated control cultures. Severe hypoxia did not significantly increase the toxicity of 2-h treatments with fenbendazole, even at concentrations near the limit of solubility.
The researchers found that most patients got the information about fenbendazole from TV news or acquaintances (B, J, L, and U). A few people accessed information from the Internet (C, N, and R). The results of this study should help prepare a systematic communication system that can deliver evidence-based information from experts to the public quickly.
Side effects
Fenbendazole is an antiparasitic drug that is used to treat parasitic worms in humans and animals. Recently, it has also been shown to have anticancer effects in cancer cells. This is a result of its effect on glucose metabolism in cancer cells. It reduces glucose uptake by the cell, leading to a lack of energy and death of the cancer cells.
Researchers have found that fenbendazole can kill cancer cells by inhibiting the synthesis of ATP, which is the primary source of energy for cancer cells. In addition, it can impair the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway, which is involved in protein degradation. However, there is currently no evidence that fenbendazole can cure cancer in humans.
The results of this study indicate that patients need to be aware of the potential harms of false information and should actively seek complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) information. Patients should also be aware that the quality of information available through YouTube is largely unknown and should not be trusted.fenbendazole for humans cancer