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Can a drug once dismissed as mere “horse dewormer” hold the key to revolutionising cancer treatment?
Studies confirm that Ivermectin is effective in cancer treatment. (First Check)
CLAIM: Ivermectin has 15 powerful anti-cancer mechanisms and can effectively treat various types of cancer.
FACT: While laboratory research shows promising results, medical experts emphasize that Ivermectin has not undergone clinical trials for cancer, and its use as a treatment remains unproven.
A post on the popular social media platform X, formerly Twitter by @bensmithlive has claimed that ivermectin (IVM) has powerful anti-cancer properties and could revolutionize the treatment of many cancers.
“Ivermectin is the future of cancer treatment. This drug was once labeled “horse de-wormer.” Today, extensive research reveals it has 15 powerful ANTI-CANCER mechanisms of action (sic),” the post, first in a long thread, reads.
“Other IVM’s anti-cancer mechanisms of action: Inhibits tumor growth/proliferation, inhibits tumor initiation/progression, regulates tumor micro-environment, causes cancer cell mitochondrial dysfunction, stops cancer cell migration, invasion & metastasis,” reads another post.
The tweet posted on November 26, 2024 has garnered 45,000 likes. 6.1 million views, and 15,000 retweets.
What’s The Fact
Since its approval for veterinary use in 1981, Ivermectin has earned a reputation as a wonder drug due to its multifaceted nature, later expanding to human treatment. It continues to be used as an antidote for River Blindness and Elephantiasis.
However, studies confirm that Ivermectin is effective in cancer treatment.
“Ivermectin effectively suppresses the proliferation and metastasis of cancer cells and promotes cancer cell death at doses that are non-toxic to normal cells,” this study found. “Ivermectin shows excellent efficacy against conventional chemotherapy drug-resistant cancer cells and reverses multidrug resistance. Ivermectin combined with other chemotherapy drugs lor targeted drugs has powerful effects on cancer.”
Dr Prasant Chandra, Surgical Oncologist and Laparoscopic Surgeon at TGH Onco Life cancer Centre in, Pune agrees that Ivermectin has potential in cancer treatment but notes that no clinical trials have confirmed its efficacy.
“The thing is we have not conducted any clinical trials on ivermectin. Although it is promising, being the clinician, I’ll confidently say that it is a cancer drug only after we find results in clinical trials,” Dr Chandra told First Check. “So maybe we’ll have to wait till some clinical trials are conducted. And if we find positive results, maybe it will be the future of many cancer treatments.”
This story was originally published by First Check and republished by News18 as part of the Shakti Collective.
