Fenbendazole is a medication used to treat parasites and worms (roundworms, hookworms, whipworms, and some tapeworms) in dogs and cats (brand names include Pancur and Safe-Guard). It’s also the main drug featured in Joe Tippens’ “Joe Tippens Protocol”, a cancer treatment method spreading on social media that includes taking fenbendazole along with other supplements. However, a specialist cancer information nurse told Full Fact that there is no evidence to suggest fenbendazole can cure cancer and that it’s not a substitute for other treatments such as chemotherapy.

There are in-vitro studies that show that fenbendazole inhibits cancer growth, but such studies only take place in petri dishes and can’t be replicated in animals or humans. Furthermore, the anti-cancer effects of fenbendazole are only observed when it’s combined with other chemotherapy drugs.

These studies suggest that fenbendazole triggers multiple cellular pathways to kill cancer cells. For example, it disrupts the cell cycle, triggering apoptosis. It also reduces glucose uptake by inhibiting the hexokinase 2 enzyme, starving cancer cells of their vital energy source, and it reactivates the tumor suppressor gene p53. Unlike many other chemotherapy drugs, fenbendazole does not get excreted by the cell’s P-glycoprotein pumps, meaning it can retain its anti-cancer effect over long periods of time.

Other studies also demonstrate that fenbendazole induces ferroptosis, a form of programmed cell death that can help destroy cancer cells. These experiments showed that fenbendazole activates phosphor-receptor-interacting protein kinase (pRIP), phosphor-mixed lineage kinase domain-like protein 1 (pMLKL), and caspase-8, which are all associated with necroptosis. In addition, it inhibited the growth of 5-fluorouracil-resistant colorectal cancer cells.fenbendazole for humans cancer