Fenbendazole is an antihelminthic drug that also acts as a potent inhibitor of the proliferation of cancer cells. It destroys microtubules that stabilize cellular structures, inhibits cancer cell growth and enhances the production of a gene called p53, which kills cancerous cells. It is not a cure-all but it is effective against several types of cancer, including lung, melanoma and colon cancer. It works by interrupting the way cancer cells metabolize sugar. It is also known as a de-wormer medication for parasitic worm infections in humans but it can be used to treat a number of diseases. During an 8-wk facility treatment for Aspiculuris tetraptera pinworm infection at our institution, human lymphoma xenografts failed to grow in SCID mice consuming a fenbendazole diet. The fenbendazole diet also prevented tumor growth in normal BALB/cRw mice, which normally develop human lymphoma xenografts within 21 d. Consequently, we determined whether the anthelmintic and anticancer properties of fenbendazole might be exploited as an adjunct to radiation therapy. In cell culture, fenbendazole had no effect on the viability of exponentially growing EMT6 cells treated for 2 or 24 h with graded doses of docetaxel (Figure 1). The toxicity of 2-h treatments with fenbendazole was enhanced by severe hypoxia, but surviving fractions were similar to those in cultures treated in air. Additivity was confirmed by superimposing surviving fractions of docetaxel and fenbendazole (Figure 2). In the irradiation experiments, 3-d treatments with fenbendazole reduced the surviving fraction of the tumors significantly when compared to untreated controls. sanare lab fenbendazole
