A Review of Ivermectin Use in Cancer Patients: Is it Time to Repurpose the Ivermectin in Cancer Treatment?

By Editorial Team
Acta Poloniae Pharmaceutica – Drug Research, Vol. 81 No. 6 pp. 913-929, 2024.
DOI: 10.32383/appdr/200570
Received 30 July 2024, Received in revised form 9 December 2024, Accepted 28 January 2025
Published on-line: 9 April 2025.

LAI YUWEN , GUAN XIAOXUE , CHEN XIAN , CHEN JING , ZHANG XIAOLU , and LU MENGMENG* 
School of Pharmacy, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China 

Abstract: Ivermectin (IVM) is a safe broad-spectrum anthelminthic. Currently, ivermectin is a promising candidate as a repurposable oncological drug. However, IVM has not yet been used in clinical cancer patients. An updated systematic review of the literature is presented here, along with an individual-level patient data (IPD) meta-analysis describing the safety of ivermectin in parasite-infected cancer patients. We identified 2273 publications, and 26 sources described studies that met the minimum criteria for a patient with cancer who was treated with ivermectin. The limited data available suggest that parasiteinfected ivermectin cancer patients are safe. However, data from carefully designed clinical trials are still needed to provide further assurance.

Keywords: ivermectin, chemotherapy, antitumor indication, cancer patient, parasite infection.


Additional research exploring the potential of ivermectin in cancer treatment

First-in-the-World Ivermectin, Mebendazole and Fenbendazole Protocol in Cancer has been peer-reviewed and published on Sep.19, 2024. Co-authors include Dr Paul Marik and Dr William Makis.

2024 Fan et al - Ivermectin Inhibits Bladder Cancer Cell Growth and Induces Oxidative Stress and DNA Damage

(2024 Man-Yuan Li et al) - Ivermectin induces non-protective autophagy by downregulating PAK1 and apoptosis in lung adenocarcinoma cells

(2024 Kaur et al) - Ivermectin: A Multifaceted drug with a potential beyond anti-parasitic therapy

(2024 Xing Hu et al) - Ivermectin as a potential therapeutic strategy for glioma

(2024 Yang Song et al) - Gene signatures to therapeutics: Assessing the potential of ivermectin against t(4;14) multiple myeloma

(2024 Goldfarb et al) - Lipid-Restricted Culture Media Reveal Unexpected Cancer Cell Sensitivities

(2024 Newell et al) - Therapeutic targeting of nuclear export and import receptors in cancer and their potential in combination chemotherapy

Oct. 2, 2023 - Ivermectin and Cancer, it has at least 15 anti-cancer mechanisms of action. Can Ivermectin Treat COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine Induced Turbo Cancers? - 9 Ivermectin papers reviewed

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