Fenbendazole For Humans Cancer May Increase the Risk of Serious Side Effects

The Joe Tippens Cancer Protocol, or Fenbendazole for Humans Cancer, is a treatment plan that involves taking an antiparasitic drug along with conventional cancer treatments such as radiation and chemotherapy. The idea behind the protocol is that if the tumor is destroyed, it can’t grow and spread.

However, no scientific research supports this claim. In fact, some studies have found that fenbendazole is ineffective against cancer and may actually increase the risk of serious side effects.

Researchers have studied the antiparasitic medication fenbendazole for years to treat parasitic infections such as worms and tapeworms. In recent years, they began to notice that fenbendazole appeared to have some anti-cancer properties. They discovered that the drug works by interfering with the formation of microtubules. Microtubules are a protein scaffolding that establishes the shape and structure of cells. They are made of a substance called tubulin. Textbook depictions of cells frequently portray these structures as floating in amorphous bags of liquid, but the reality is that they are dynamic and can assemble or disassemble to form different shapes and move cargo inside the cell.

In the lab, researchers treated tumor cells with varying doses of fenbendazole and observed the survival of the cells. They also irradiated the tumors and measured their growth. At the lowest dose of fenbendazole, the cells were significantly less likely to survive the irradiation, but even at high doses, the cells were not as susceptible to radiation-induced damage.

When the researchers investigated the reason for this resistance, they found that fenbendazole interferes with tubulin polymerization in cancer cells. This causes the microtubules to depolymerize, or break apart. As a result, the cancer cells lose their structural integrity and stop growing or die.

The Johns Hopkins researchers then tested fenbendazole in mice. They gave them the drug orally every second day for 12 days and examined the results. They found that the drug reduced tumor size and weight. They also found that fenbendazole did not require the presence of the tumour suppressor gene p53 to have an effect in 5-fluorouracil-resistant pancreatic cancer cells.

Similarly, mebendazole—another antiparasitic drug that’s closely related to fenbendazole—has been shown to have anti-tumor activity in pancreatic cancer and other tumours. The researchers are working to further develop mebendazole for use as a cancer treatment.

Fenbendazole is available in oral granules or a liquid suspension for administration by mouth. The dosage recommended by the doctors who developed the protocol is 222 mg per day, taken seven days a week. The drugs should be taken with food to prevent gastrointestinal upset.

Funding for the research was provided by the Virginia and D.K. Ludwig Fund for Cancer Research at Johns Hopkins Medicine and the National Institutes of Health. The research was led by Tara Williamson and Michelle Carvalho de Abreu. The scientists note that they have intellectual property rights in mebendazole and are seeking to license the technology through Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures. The authors disclose the following conflicts of interest: Williamson is an inventor on intellectual property related to mebendazole, which is owned by Benizole Therapeutics, PBC and is being managed according to Johns Hopkins University conflict-of-interest policies.