The antiparasitic drug ivermectin has promising test tube and pre-clinical research in animal models only. These rarely translate into patient success, and are a long way from any well targeted standard of care in oncology. There is presently only one active clinical trial in human patients and the results pending in triple negative breast cancer. The preliminary report shows tendencies to positive effect but there is a long way to go there. The proposed mechanism of making tumors more sensitive to immunotherapy drugs remains unproven. There are, in contrast, multiple opportunities you can find using our Pathfinder, the Supplements and Food Libraries that can boost immunotherapy outcomes safely whilst lowering, not increasing, side effects.

As can been seen with many other research studies, re-purposed drugs frequently disappoint in the lack of benefits. There are many parallels with fenbendazole aka “fenben” where test tube and mouse studies are heavily relied on in those proposing these drugs in cancer with no ability to specify which types or subtypes of cancers may respond positively. Mebendazole, the FDA approved prescription anti-parasitic drug, has shown it can accelerate progression of several digestive system cancers over 60% (see Mebendazole). Its worth remembering the same is true in development of oncology drugs themselves, where many failures occur even at the phase III stage. In some cases all these additional drugs contribute  side effects of their own or actually increasing disease progression. (See also cimetidine in lung cancer immunotherapy for instance).

There is no basis for believing ivermectin can slow progression in cancers until some robust clinical evidence is presented. And some identification of which cancer types and subtypes are proposed. If the experience of mebendazole is any indication then it may in fact worsen the prognosis when used at random and without the knowledge, and recommendation, of your oncologist. Taking drugs like ivermectin at random is equally or even more likely to increase disease progression, and will have its owns side effects. In short: never self medicate these drugs based on unfounded hype and hope.