A Cheap Deworming Pill Could Help Beat Drug-Resistant Lung Cancer

Researchers paired mebendazole, a common deworming medicine, with gefitinib, a targeted lung cancer drug, and found the combination reduced viability in resistant human lung cancer cells to 38% compared to 93% with gefitinib alone. In mice, the combination extended tumor-doubling time to 25 days versus 15.5 days with gefitinib alone, suggesting the pairing targets a weakness in drug-resistant cancer cells.

Tested in laboratory cells and mice. Tumors were not eliminated and results are preclinical; further research is needed before human trials.