A 2025-2026 list of Mebendazole reports of anticancer effects across preclinical tumor models.
Mebendazole’s 2025–2026 anticancer literature includes direct preclinical tumor-model studies and a few reviews summarizing those findings.
Bottom line
The strongest 2025–2026 preclinical MBZ anticancer reports are the ovarian cancer cell-line study, the patient-tumor-cell plus mouse colon cancer study, the gastric cancer mechanism study, the meningioma 3D invasion study, the oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma combination study, and the hepatocellular carcinoma validation study; the review papers consistently reinforce the same pattern of microtubule disruption, cell-cycle arrest, apoptosis, and pathway-level suppression across multiple tumor types.
References
Blum, C.B., McMenamin, M., Khoo, T., (...), O’Callaghan, L.A. (2026) From anthelmintic to neuro-oncology: A systematic review of mebendazole repurposing for brain tumour therapy. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. https://doi.org/10.1002/bcp.70565
Nimbalkar, V.V., Bhongal, S.A., Dhage, N.R., Barkade, G.D. (2025) Repurposing of Mebendazole as an Anticancer Agent: A Review. Research Journal of Pharmacy and Technology. https://doi.org/10.52711/0974-360X.2025.00232
da Silva, E.L., Pantoja Mesquita, F., da Rocha Lima, P.V., (...), Montenegro, R.C. (2026) Mebendazole impairs the expression and function of enzymes in nucleotide metabolism pathways, leading to Selective Cytotoxicity, Cell Cycle Arrest, and Damage to Cell Morphology in Gastric Cancer. Chemico-Biological Interactions. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbi.2026.111973
Zhang, J., Cui, Y. (2025) Synergistic inhibition of proliferation and induction of apoptosis in oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma by mebendazole and paclitaxel via PI3K/AKT pathway mitigation. Naunyn-Schmiedeberg’s Archives of Pharmacology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00210-024-03670-y
Mansoori, S., Blom, K., Andersson, C., (...), Nygren, P. (2026) Characterization of the anticancer effect of mebendazole and its interaction with standard cytotoxic drugs in patient tumor cells ex vivo and in an in vivo mouse model. Oncology Reports. https://doi.org/10.3892/or.2025.9014
Phan, P., Stapleton, S.L., Riggins, G.J., (...), Cohen, K.J. (2025) Phase 1 study of mebendazole therapy for refractory/progressive or recurrent pediatric brain tumors. Neuro-Oncology Practice. https://doi.org/10.1093/nop/npaf060
Gupta, R., Roy, D., Ghosh, A., (...), Swarnakar, S. (2025) Mebendazole Exerts Anticancer Activity in Ovarian Cancer Cell Lines via Novel Girdin-Mediated AKT/IKKα/β/NF-κB Signaling Axis. Cells. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells14020113
Mukherjee, P., Maurer, J., Stopka, S.A., (...), Seyfried, T.N. (2026) Ketogenic diet as a metabolic vehicle enhancing the therapeutic efficacy of mebendazole and devimistat in juvenile syngeneic high-grade glioma. Cell Reports Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xcrm.2026.102845
Fattahi, M.R., Taheri, D., Inanloo, S.H., (...), Aghamir, S.M. (2026) Effects of Mebendazole and Flutamide Combination in Prostate Cancer Cell Lines: a Comprehensive in Vitro Analysis. Cellular Physiology and Biochemistry. https://doi.org/10.33594/000000876
Atia, N.M., Abdallah, O.Y., Hazzah, H.A., (...), Barakat, H.S. (2025) Preliminary assessment of repurposed mebendazole nano-systems for passive targeting and potential treatment of bone metastasis. Pharmaceutical Development and Technology. https://doi.org/10.1080/10837450.2025.2574082
James, M.M., López Vásquez, C.E., Agadha, W., (...), Lee, G.C. (2026) Mebendazole Attenuates Cellular Invasion in a 3D Culture Model of Meningioma by Disrupting Rho-GTPase-Mediated Microtubule Function. Oncology Research. https://doi.org/10.32604/or.2026.074958
El Halawany, M., Sharaky, M., Aziz, D. (2025) Stearyl amine tailored spanlastics embedded within tetronic® nanogel for boosting the repurposed anticancer potential of mebendazole: formulation, in vitro profiling, cytotoxicity assessment, and in vivo permeation analysis. DARU, Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40199-025-00560-3
Alghalayini, A., Sarker, F.A., Dickson, K.-A., (...), Marsh, D.J. (2025) Drug repurposing in gynaecological cancers: Proven drugs for new challenges. Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2025.118885
Luo, Z., Zhang, Y., Guo, C., (...), Chen, C. (2025) Integrated bioinformatics and in vitro validation reveal TUBB as a core gene and therapeutic target in NAFLD-related hepatocellular carcinoma. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2025.149026
Atia, N.M., Barakat, H.S., Hazzah, H.A., (...), Abdallah, O.Y. (2025) Strontium decorated mebendazole alginate nano-platform for bone marrow active targeting for the treatment of bone metastasis. Journal of Drug Delivery Science and Technology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jddst.2025.107317