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HealthAn animal dewormer, miracle treatment to cure cancer?
On social networks, posts praising the supposed anti-tumor virtues of fenbendazole make millions of views. Should we give them credit?
Fenbendazole can be easily purchased on the internet.
DRAccording to the Twittosphere, the fight against cancer will soon be of ancient history. And this, thanks to a miracle remedy: fenbendazole, a dewormer intended for animals and used against gastrointestinal parasites such as Giardia, Ascaris or the Solitaire. Seen millions of times, posts assure that patient sentences have reached complete remission thanks to this medication. And even recommend patients to self-administer it.
Only here it is: if the potential of fenbendazole in cancerology has been analyzed by several studies and the molecule seems capable of slowing down the growth of in vitro tumors, it has so far been possible to demonstrate its effectiveness on animals or humans. By wanting to treat his cancer with fenbendazole bought on the internet, a Briton died in April 2025. The victim had not taken into account the toxicity of the molecule for the liver, and that cost him his life.
In recent years, several cases of similar, but not fatal poisoning, have been identified. Although the health authorities, including FDA in the United States and the European Medicines Agency, prohibit the use of fenbendazole in humans because of its toxicity, preferring other antiparasitaires such as albendazole and mebendazole.
The fact remains that patients continue to self-administer fenbendazole at the risk of what is left of health, encouraged by self-proclaimed specialists (as, below, William Makis, who presents himself on X as a doctor while he has not been officially exercising since 2019, according to the Canadian authorities). They surf the despair related to cancer, a scourge that makes nearly 10 million people around the world each year, according to WHO.
