Could Ivermectin Be a Potential Drug for Cancer?

NK-cell destroys a cancer cell. Alpha Tauri 3D Graphics/Shutterstock

It’s been vilified as being dangerous, useless or both, but extensive research shows that’s not true. This study demonstrates potential for its use against a broad range of cancers. Along with direct cytotoxic effects, it’s believed to help regulate the tumor microenvironment, mediating immunogenic cell death.

Story at-a-glance

• Ivermectin has notable antitumor effects, which include inhibiting proliferation, metastasis and angiogenic activity in cancer cells
• Ivermectin may target cancer in multiple ways, including inducing apoptosis and autophagy while also inhibiting tumor stem cells and reversing multidrug resistance
• Along with direct cytotoxic effects, it’s believed that ivermectin regulates the tumor microenvironment, mediating immunogenic cell death
• The development of an injectable form of ivermectin, or liposomal ivermectin, could help overcome some of its limitations regarding solubility
• Considering that the “war against cancer” has been ongoing for decades, with little to show in terms of lives saved, repurposing existing drugs with favorable safety profiles and notable anticancer effects — like ivermectin — could be a direction

Ivermectin is a widely used antiparasitic drug that’s listed on the World Health Organization’s essential medicines list1 and approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In low- and middle-income countries, ivermectin is commonly used to treat parasitic diseases including onchocerciasis (river blindness), strongyloidiasis and other diseases caused by soil-transmitted helminthiasis, or parasitic worms.2