Avera doctors weigh in on ivermectin treatment for cancer care

This piece is sponsored by Avera Health.

Antiparasitic medications like ivermectin and fenbendazole are used to treat infections caused by parasites. You may have seen recent claims on the internet that say these medications can be used to treat cancer instead of chemotherapy or other cancer-fighting therapies.

Dr. Luis Rojas, clinical vice president of Avera’s oncology service line, explains why anti-parasitic drugs are not a substitute for evidence-based care.

What Is ivermectin?

Antiparasitic medications are like antibiotics are for bacteria. They’re used to treat parasites. Parasites are live organisms like mites or worms that can come into our bodies and live in a symbiotic environment. In other words, they can feed on us, and these medications are meant to kill them.

Can anti-parasitic drugs be used for cancer treatment?

We’ve seen an increase in patients asking for these medications, including ivermectin and fenbendazole, based on anecdotal information. A challenge is these medications are also easy to access.

Here’s why these drugs can’t be used for cancer treatment. While some have been evaluated in the lab or preclinical trial setting, the medications have not been tested at all in phase 1, 2 and 3 clinical trials, which are the trials used to determine what is effective for humans.

That means we don’t have the information that truly tells us that these medications are effective in treating cancers.

Why are clinical trials important in this case?

Without the clinical process, we don’t have a full understanding of their effectiveness and their side effect profiles. What we also don’t know is how do they interact with a current cancer treatment.

Some of those medications may interact negatively by affecting the efficacy of the proven beneficial cancer drug or may actually enhance the toxicities of the cancer drug.

What should patients do?

We understand cancer treatment is stressful and that people will seek out all sorts of potential avenues for treatment. Alternative treatments may have a role.

The important thing is when you consider using something that’s not best-evidence-based, standard-of-care treatment, that you first consult with your oncologist and ask them the question. The oncologist will give you the honest answer on whether that could be beneficial for you as a patient or not.

Get more health tips at Avera.org/Balance.