A REVIEW OF IVERMECTIN USE IN CANCER PATIENTS: IS IT TIME TO REPURPOSE IVERMECTIN IN CANCER TREATMENT?

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Paper Summary

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Ivermectin for Cancer? Promising in a Petri Dish, Needs More Testing in People

This review examined existing studies on ivermectin use in cancer patients, mostly case reports where the drug was given for parasitic infections. Ivermectin appeared safe in these patients, but the studies were not designed to test its anti-cancer effects, so more research is needed. The review proposes several potential mechanisms for how ivermectin might work against cancer, based primarily on pre-clinical evidence.

Possible Conflicts of Interest

None identified

Identified Weaknesses

Confounding indication for ivermectin use

The review focuses on studies where cancer patients were given ivermectin primarily for parasitic infections, not cancer. This makes it difficult to isolate the anti-cancer effects of ivermectin.

Small sample size

The total number of cancer patients included across all studies is small (36). Such a small sample size makes it difficult to draw strong conclusions about the safety or effectiveness of ivermectin in this population.

Low quality of included studies

The studies included in the review are largely case reports and case series, which have a lower level of evidence than randomized controlled trials.

Limited human evidence for anti-cancer mechanisms

The review identifies various proposed anti-tumor mechanisms of ivermectin, but these are mostly based on pre-clinical studies (e.g., in cell cultures or animal models). More research is needed to confirm these mechanisms in humans.

Rating Explanation

This review provides a useful summary of the existing literature on ivermectin use in cancer patients. However, the evidence presented is largely based on pre-clinical studies and a small number of case reports/series where ivermectin was used to treat parasitic infections, not cancer. Therefore, the current evidence is insufficient to draw strong conclusions about its efficacy as an anti-cancer treatment in humans. More robust clinical trials are needed.

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