In recent weeks, Facebook posts and TikTok videos have been widely reposted about a dog dewormer that supposedly cures cancer in humans. The posts quote Joe Tippens, an Oklahoma man who claims he had small-cell lung cancer that spread to his organs and bones, but that he was cured after taking the medication fenbendazole, also known as Panacur C, on a veterinarian’s recommendation. The fenbendazole is an anti-worm medication in the class of anthelmintics that includes albendazole and mebendazole. Some peer-reviewed studies have found anthelmintic drugs may have anti-cancer effects, but none have proven that fenbendazole itself can cure cancer.

While many pet owners and even some doctors have claimed fenbendazole is the miracle cancer treatment, it’s important to remember that scientific research needs to be carried out to determine if these claims are valid. The Penn Vet Cancer Center specializes in research on dogs and people with cancer, but the scientists who work there need more help to get significant breakthroughs.

Dogs and people develop cancer differently from mice, which are used in most laboratory studies. Cancers in both dogs and humans often develop over a long period of time, accumulating mutations over the years to eventually cause the cells to mutate into malignant tumors.

While chemo and radiation can kill many tumors in both people and pets, they’re not usually effective for stopping cancer progression or reversing metastatic disease. That’s why researchers need to focus on preventing and treating the root causes of cancer in both dogs and people. fenbendazole capsules