More and more cancer patients are beginning to ask for or use ivermectin, an anti-parasitic drug commonly used in veterinary medicine and for certain parasitic infections in humans, in hopes that it might have anti-cancer effects.
The trend has attracted the attention of the medical community, especially in the context where there is no solid clinical evidence to support the effectiveness of ivermectin in treating cancer, and specialists warn that giving up standard oncological therapies, such as chemotherapy, can significantly reduce the chances of effective treatment.
A study that analyzed the electronic health records of 68 million patients found that ivermectin prescriptions for cancer patients more than doubled between January 2025 and July 2025.
Relative interest in ivermectin was highest among cancer patients who were male, white, and from the southern United States.
The study attributes this spike in demand, at least in part, to a viral interview on Joe Rogan’s wildly popular podcast, which has been viewed at least 60 million times. In the January 2025 interview, actor Mel Gibson claimed that a combination of ivermectin and benzimidazole (a compound used in both pest control and agricultural products) would have cured several cases of cancer among his friends, writes woodtv.com.
Since then, other celebrities have also promoted this experimental treatment. Ron Duguay, a former NHL player who is currently in a relationship with former US vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, told ABC News that he uses high-dose ivermectin as part of his treatment for stage 4 colon cancer. Duguay admitted that he has also undergone chemotherapy, but some patients choose ivermectin over chemotherapy and other established cancer treatments.
“Increasingly, my patients are asking about drugs like ivermectinDr. Merry Jennifer Markham told the American Cancer Society.I’m grateful she’s asking because we can have an informed discussion.”
The drug is not FDA-approved to treat any type of cancer—in humans or animals—and there are no official clinical guidelines recommending it as a treatment.
But does it work? Doctors say there is not enough evidence.
“It has not been shown in any confirmatory clinical trials, which is the gold standard of evidence we need to know if a treatment works“, Dr. John Mafi, associate professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, told ABC.
According to the American Cancer Society, there are major risks in taking ivermectin. Side effects of high doses include seizures, coma and even death. The dose needed to have any effect in humans would be considered toxic, explained Dr. Skyler Johnson of the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah.
Lower doses can negatively interfere with chemotherapy, making nausea and vomiting worse.
People who claim that the drug cured their cancer may be ignoring the effects of other, more scientifically proven treatments that were given at the same time. No clinical studies have been able to isolate the effect of ivermectin on cancer cells in humans.
“As an oncologist, I like to adopt new therapies that are shown by scientific studies to have potential for my patients. But you can’t just take a random drug and hope it works”said Dr. Markham.
However, despite the lack of hard evidence, some states allow ivermectin to be widely available. In states like Texas, Arkansas and Tennessee, the drug is available without a prescription, directly from pharmacies.
The situation in Romania. What the oncologists say
The National Society of Medical Oncology in Romania (SNOMR) sent an official message to clarify the situation, at the request of SmartLiving.ro. At the beginning of the year, the Fact Check department of the Agence France Presse (AFP) published an extensive material debunking the myths circulated on social networks about the therapeutic potential of ivermectin and fenbendazole in the treatment of cancer.
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SNOMR points out that the mentioned drugs are veterinary antiparasitics, intended exclusively for animal treatments: “They are only available in veterinary pharmacies, where, for their purchase, a medical prescription may not be necessary. Their use orally for human use is not recommended in any case, given that no clinical studies have been carried out to certify their safety and effectiveness in human treatments.”
The company specifies that “dAlthough Ivermectin, one of the drugs mentioned, is available as a cream for dermatological use in humans, there is no strong scientific evidence to support its use in cancer treatments. In addition, the use of unregistered drugs without specific indications for oncological treatments can lead to serious side effects and compromise the patient’s health.”
Regarding the current research, SNOMR admits that the research carried out so far in the preclinical field suggests possible beneficial effects of these drugs in cancer therapy, but considers it premature to state that they can be used effectively for oncological treatments. To date, the studies have only been at the preclinical level, without conclusive evidence in human subjects to allow assessment of risks and benefits. In this context, oncologists cannot recommend treatments for which there is no clear scientific data to support their use in everyday practice.
What do the studies cited online actually say
One of the papers frequently cited in discussions of ivermectin and cancer is an article published by researchers in 2020. But Dr. Mihail Pautov says the paper is often misinterpreted.
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,,The cited study is a literature review, meaning the scientists took and looked in the literature to see what was written about ivermectin and cancer. And they themselves say that there is no human study, that there is no representative group, we don’t know what they are treating”.
The doctor draws attention that even medical studies can be used to spread fake news.
“It is the perfect example of the fact that studies must be interpreted and analyzed by doctors and explained by doctors. When such a study gets into the hands of people who do not have good intentions, then these people say that there is a study that shows that invermectin is effective in cancer.”
And Dr. Irina Anghel points out: “In the specialized literature, there are preclinical studies that investigate possible effects of ivermectin on some cellular mechanisms involved in oncogenesis. This research, mainly in vitro or in animal models, has suggested potential biological effects on cell proliferation.
However, preclinical results cannot be directly extrapolated to human use due to differences in pharmacology, dosage, and biological complexity. To date, there are no high-quality clinical trials demonstrating a therapeutic benefit of ivermectin in cancer, and the substance is not included in current oncology guidelines.”
