Fenbendazole
Growing evidence suggests that any functional compound classified to be safe for human use is likely to have multiple therapeutic applications.
(FZ) Or FenBen comes from a class of drugs called benzimidazoles. Mebendazole is also a benzimidazole, as are Oxfendazole (a metabolite of ), Albendazole, and Parbendazole. All are anthelmintics with research against cancer. Furthermore, the benzimidazole ‘core’ is found in a wide variety of drugs such as antimicrobials, antivirals, anti-parasites, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antioxidants, proton pump inhibitors, antihypertensives, anticoagulants, immunomodulators, hormone modulators, and CNS stimulants.
Pinworm drug, Mebendazole, and cancer - TNBC, GBM, pancreatic and colon | CANCERactive https://www.canceractive.com/article/pinworm-drug-mebendazole-targets-cancers-like-gbm-and-osteosarcoma
Fenbendazole is a broad-spectrum dewormer prescribed by veterinarians to treat parasitic worms, known as helminths. The drug can block sugar uptake, cause apoptosis in cancer cells, reduce tumor size, and even help overcome cancer drug resistance. This drug is the perfect candidate to be a new ‘repurposed cancer drug’.
With its high safety profile, affordability, and minimal side effects, fenbendazole stands out as a potential option for cancer therapy. Moreover, fenbendazole is readily available and can be administered orally, offering a less invasive treatment that may increase patient adherence. Furthermore, by inhibiting glycolysis in cancer cells and preventing lactate buildup, fenbendazole surpasses albendazole and mebendazole in treating drug-resistant cells, making it the benzimidazole of choice for cancer therapy.
Oral Fenbendazole for Cancer Therapy in Humans and Animals https://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/anticanres/44/9/3725.full.pdf
Benzimidazoles (e.g., Mebendazole, Fenbendazole): These compounds inhibit cancer cell energy pathways and induce apoptosis. They have shown promise in treating advanced cancers and are generally well-tolerated
Fenbendazole eliminates parasites by inhibiting microtubule assembly, a process that enables intracellular transport. This microtubule disruption also applies to cancer cells, which rely on these structures to sustain their rapid, uncontrolled division. Essentially, fenbendazole stops mitosis by the same mechanism that kills parasites.
Fenbendazole attacks malignancies through several key pathways:
1. Triggering apoptosis (programmed cell death). It does this by arresting the cell cycle via microtubule disruption.
2. Restricting cancer cell glucose uptake. High glucose consumption fuels uncontrolled tumor growth, as evidenced by PET scans that demonstrate the Warburg effect of aerobic glycolysis. Fenbendazole appears to limit this key energy source by reducing glucose transporters and the hexokinase 2 enzyme. This starves cells of division-enabling sugars.
3. Reactivating the tumor suppressor p53 gene. Fenbendazole restores p53 function, a potent tumor suppressor. Humans don’t have much of this gene, but fenbendazole helps activate it.
Additionally, malignant cells seem unable to develop resistance to fenbendazole with prolonged use, unlike traditional chemotherapy drugs. This enables long-term administration without loss of efficacy.
A major way cancer cells develop chemoresistance is through P-glycoproteins—special pumps that expel anti-cancer drugs from the cell before they can exert their effects. However, research shows that malignant cells do not identify fenbendazole as a compound to be pumped out via these pumps. So unlike other agents, fenbendazole remains inside cancer cells. By avoiding efflux mediated by P-glycoproteins, fenbendazole can retain its potency over the long term.
Fenbendazole acts as a moderate microtubule destabilizing agent and causes cancer cell death by modulating multiple cellular pathways https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6085345/
[anti-proliferative activity --> used or tending to inhibit cell growth.]
Drugs that are already clinically approved or experimentally tested for conditions other than cancer, but are found to possess previously unrecognized cytotoxicity towards malignant cells, may serve as fitting anti-cancer candidates. Methyl N-(6-phenylsulfanyl-1H benzimidazol-2-yl) carbamate [Fenbendazole, FZ], a benzimidazole compound, is a safe and inexpensive anthelmintic drug possessing an efficient anti-proliferative activity.
Scientific Reports - Published online: 09 August 2018 https://www.nature.com/scientificreports
Dogra, N., Kumar, A., & Mukhopadhyay, T. (2018). Fenbendazole acts as a moderate microtubule destabilizing agent and causes cancer cell death by modulating multiple cellular pathways. Scientific Reports. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-30158-6
Furthermore, new drug discovery is a lengthy and costly process with minimal likelihood of success. Thus, drug repurposing (DR) has emerged as a new avenue in which a drug previously approved for the treatment of one disease can be used to treat another, such as cancer. This approach is significantly more beneficial than the de novo approach in terms of time and cost. Moreover, there is minimal risk of failure of repurposed therapeutics in clinical trials
Drug repurposing: An emerging strategy in alleviating skin cancer https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0014299922002928