Pancreatic cancer – known as PDAC – is one of the hardest-to-treat tumor types. Standard chemotherapy can barely slow its growth and newer immune-targeting therapies are ineffective against it.
But researchers at Washington University School of Medicine say combining chemotherapy with an immunotherapy can substantially increase survival rates. Their study showed that blocking an inflammatory pathway made the cancer more sensitive to both treatments and doubled survival rates in mice.
Safety
A cancer protocol involving fenbendazole (Panacur C, 222 mg per day seven days a week) and curcumin is gaining popularity after several cancer success stories. This medication, originally used to eradicate roundworms, hookworms, lungworm, whipworms and tapeworms in dogs, appears to prevent pancreatic cancer from growing by targeting cells that support its growth.
UC San Diego Health physician-scientists are international leaders in developing innovative treatment approaches for pancreatic cancer, which is the third most lethal cancer with a one percent five-year survival rate. They have found that an anti-parasitic drug prevents pancreatic cancer’s initiation, progression and spread in genetically engineered mice.
The researchers tested FDA-approved benzimidazole-based anthelmintic drugs including fenbendazole, mebendazole and oxibendazole against two pancreatic cancer cell lines with distinct genetic backgrounds. They found that mebendazole, which inhibits the formation of tubulin, the microtubule structure that provides a highway for transport, significantly reduced viability of cancer cells. Combinations of mebendazole and gemcitabine further augmented the antitumor effect.
Dosage
Researchers have discovered that an antiparasitic drug prevents pancreatic cancer initiation, progression and metastasis in genetically engineered mice. The drug, mebendazole (trade name Panacur C), binds to the microtubule polymerization protein, disrupting its function and causing cancer cells to collapse from within.
Mebendazole was originally intended to eradicate roundworm and hookworm by starving parasitic infections of sustenance. However, the drug also seems to target and destroy pancreatic cancer cells.
Mebendazole stabilizes WT p53, provides moderate microtubule disruption and interferes with cancer cell glucose metabolism. These effects have been found to lead to preferential elimination of cancer cells in vivo and in vitro.
In these experiments, mebendazole was administered to mice genetically engineered to develop pancreatic cancer while measuring inflammation levels, tissue change and the stage, grade and metastatic status of any tumors that developed. The researchers then compared the growth of unirradiated and irradiated tumors that were treated with or without mebendazole, by calculating the time it took for each tumor to grow from its stratification volume to four times that number.
Side Effects
Pancreatic cancer, also known as pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), is one of the most difficult and deadly forms of cancer. Standard chemotherapy regimens are often ineffective against it, and the most commonly used immunotherapy drugs fail to significantly extend survival times even when given in combination with other cancer treatments.
In his study, Gregory Riggins found that mebendazole, the drug used to treat roundworm and hookworm infections by cutting off their supply of food, could starve pancreatic cancer cells by blocking the production of tubulin, a protein that serves as both a micro-skeleton of the inner cell and a highway for transport. This effectively collapses the cancer cell from the inside, which eventually starves it to death.
There are several lifestyle factors that can be altered to reduce the risk of developing pancreatic cancer, including maintaining a healthy weight and avoiding smoking. Supplements like curcumin can also help increase healthy p53 levels and promote tumour suppression. Adding these supplements to the fenbendazole treatment protocol can help patients experience optimal outcomes.
Precautions
Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest malignancies worldwide, with patients typically not diagnosed until their disease is advanced or metastatic. The adenocarcinoma of the pancreatic duct, known as PDAC, is notoriously resistant to standard chemotherapy, and even newer immuno-targeted treatments have shown only limited success.
The research team’s experiments found that fenbendazole, a drug originally developed to treat helminthic parasites (such as pinworms, giardiasis, roundworms and hookworms), significantly reduced tumor growth and metastasis in genetically engineered mice models. The drug works by blocking the polymerization of tubulin, a protein that makes up microtubules in cells and provides structure and shape to them.
Fenbendazole is already FDA-approved and widely used as an antiparasitic medication for dogs. It is available as oral granules and liquid and can be self-administered by patients under the guidance of their healthcare provider. The Joe Tippens Cancer Protocol recommends a dose of 222 mg a day, seven days a week. The University of Pennsylvania’s Abramson Family Cancer Institute and the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy are supporting this research.fenbendazole for pancreatic cancer
