Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal forms of human cancer, with a five-year survival rate of less than 10 percent. While standard chemotherapy and targeted agents have shown promise in improving outcomes, their effects are limited by drug resistance and by complex interactions between cancer cells and the tumor microenvironment.

A growing body of evidence suggests that FDA-approved benzimidazole-based anthelmintics, including fenbendazole and mebendazole, have antitumor properties. These compounds, used to treat helminth infections such as tapeworm and cryptococcus, are known to reactivate the p53 gene within the genome of the patient and have been found to inhibit cancer growth.

In a new study, researchers investigated the effects of FDA-approved benzimidazole-based drugs on pancreatic cancer (PC) cell viability. They discovered that parbendazole, the most potent of the four compounds tested in the study, significantly reduced viability in PC cells in vitro. In addition, parbendazole also markedly inhibited growth, abolished clonogenic activity, significantly altered microtubule organization, affected migration, and drastically perturbed the cell cycle in PC cells. Additionally, combinations of fenbendazole and gemcitabine synergistically reduced PC cell viability.

Patients suffering from advanced pancreatic cancer are often unaware of available treatments and opt to self-treat, despite the fact that only eight per cent of those diagnosed with the disease survive five years after diagnosis. In an attempt to help, a Canadian doctor named Joe Tippens developed his “Joe Tippens Protocol,” which recommends the use of fenbendazole, an antibiotic and parasite inhibitor. fenbendazole for pancreatic cancer