Scientists have discovered that fenben, a broad-spectrum anti-parasitic drug used in veterinary medicine, could be effective against cancer. They found that it can inhibit the growth of cancer cells in petri dishes and mice and can also suppress oxidative stress, which is a known cause of tumor progression. The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports.

A growing number of studies have reported that widely used antiparasitic drugs, including benzimidazoles like fenbendazole, can reduce tumor growth in mice and inhibit proliferation of certain cancer cells in vitro. However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms underlying these effects.

To address this issue, we encapsulated fenbendazole and rapamycin into the polymer mPEG-b-PCL for targeted delivery to cancer cells. The final micelle formulations showed a uniform size distribution with high elongation and dispersability (PDI) (Figure 2). We observed that the mPEG-b-PCL-FEN/RAPA combination was more effective than either drug alone. The mPEG-b-PCL micelle formulations were stable at 4degC for 2 wk, but the size and PDI of the micelles progressively increased upon storage at higher temperatures, suggesting that temperature dependence could play an important role in their efficacy.

We compared the effects of fenbendazole on normal breast epithelial cells (MCF-10A) and triple-negative breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7). In MDA-MB-231 cells, fenbendazole significantly reduced oxidative stress induced by hydrogen peroxide treatment. In contrast, it had no effect on the redox status of MCF-10A cells. The difference in redox sensitization between the two types of cells reveals a novel mechanism for the differential antiproliferative effect of fenbendazole in triple-negative breast cancer cells. fenben for cancer