The drug fenben lab fenbendazole is a safe, broad-spectrum antihelminthic. It acts on parasites by binding to tubulin and disrupting the microtubule equilibrium, resulting in the collapse of the mitotic apparatus, allowing the parasite to die (1-3). Because of this potent activity, fenbendazole is often given in conjunction with other medications such as metronidazole or albendazole, which are used to treat less common helminth infections, such as whipworms and ascarids. Fenbendazole is in a class of drugs called the benzimidazoles.
It has been proposed that the benzimidazoles may have anticancer activity, and fenbendazole specifically has mechanisms of action that overlap with those of hypoxia-selective nitroheterocyclic cytotoxins/radiosensitizers and taxanes. However, despite the fact that fenbendazole is toxic to EMT6 cells in vitro and in vivo, it does not affect tumor growth or increase radiation sensitivity in mice with EMT6 mammary carcinomas.
In an experiment examining the effect of fenbendazole on tumor growth and radiation response, mice were injected with three daily i.p. injections of fenbendazole or a placebo, then irradiated at 10 Gy. The growth curve for unirradiated tumors was not affected by fenbendazole alone, but the addition of irradiation resulted in a significant reduction in tumor volume at four-fold the initial tumor volume.
In an additional experiment, fenbendazole, in combination with a sterilizable diet containing 150 ppm of fenbendazole (Global 2918, Harlan Teklad), supplemented with vitamins A and D, did not significantly affect the growth of human lymphoma xenografts in SCID mice. The xenografts did grow, however, when the fenbendazole was withdrawn. fenben lab fenbendazol