Ivermectin: From Antiparasitic to Anticancer Actions

Breaking Ground in Cancer Research: Ivermectin Cancer Potential Revealed!

Researched and written by Keith Bishop, Clinical Nutritionist, Cancer Coach, Retired Pharmacist

Notice: This information is intended for educational purposes only and should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult with your healthcare team before considering the integration of ivermectin or any other therapy into your health program to ensure it aligns with your specific medical needs and circumstances.

Ivermectin History

Ivermectin is a medication primarily used to treat parasitic infections. It was initially developed in the 1970s for veterinary use but was later approved for human use in the 1980s. In humans, ivermectin is prescribed for conditions such as strongyloidiasis (intestinal infection caused by threadworms) and onchocerciasis (river blindness). It is also used topically to treat head lice and skin conditions like rosacea.

Ivermectin Anticancer Pathways and Mechanisms

Recent studies have explored the potential of ivermectin as an anticancer agent.[i] [ii] Research indicates that ivermectin can target cancer cells through multiple mechanisms:

1. Attacking Mitochondria: Ivermectin disrupts the mitochondrial function in cancer cells, leading to cell death.[iii] [iv]
2. Improving Apoptosis: Ivermectin enhances programmed cell death (apoptosis) in cancer cells.[v]
3. Reducing Drug Resistance: Ivermectin can reverse drug resistance in cancer cells, making other treatments more effective.[vi]
4. Immunomodulation: Ivermectin modulates the immune response, aiding in the fight against cancer.[vii]
5. Reducing Chronic Inflammation: Ivermectin may help prevent cancer progression by reducing inflammation.[viii]
6. Anti-Tumor Effects: Ivermectin has direct anti-tumor effects, inhibiting the growth and spread of cancer cells.[ix]
7. Reducing Metastasis: Ivermectin can reduce cancer cells' ability to spread to other parts of the body.[x]
8. Attacking parasites and viruses.[xi] [xii]
9. Disrupts Energy Metabolism: Ivermectin interferes with the energy metabolic pathways, including glycolysis, the TCA cycle, oxidative phosphorylation, and other related pathways.[xiii] [xiv] [xv]

Check out the Prevail Over Cancer Ivermectin Podcast!

Cancers Known to be Sensitive to Ivermectin

While research is ongoing, some cancers have shown sensitivity to ivermectin in preclinical laboratory cell, animal, and a few human studies (at the time of publication): (I will add to this list as researchers expand their knowledge on on other cancers)

• Bladder cancer[xvi]
• Breast Cancer[xvii]
• Colon Cancer[xviii]
• Colorectal Cancer[xix]
• Glioblastoma[xx]
• Leukemia[xxi]
• Lung Cancer[xxvii]
• Ovarian Cancer[xxii]
• Osteosarcoma[xxiii]
• Pancreatic Cancer[xxiv] (KRAS mutation)[xxv]
• Prostate Cancer[xxvi]

Use this link for a Coaching Session on Repurposed Medications.

Ivermectin and Cancer Conclusion

Ivermectin, originally an antiparasitic drug, has shown promising potential as an anticancer agent. Its ability to target cancer cells through multiple pathways makes it a candidate for further research and clinical trials. As we continue to explore its applications, ivermectin may become a valuable addition to our arsenal against cancer.

Reference Sources 

[i] Kaur B, Blavo C, Parmar MS. Ivermectin: A Multifaceted Drug With a Potential Beyond Anti-parasitic Therapy. Cureus. 2024;16(3):e56025. Published 2024 Mar 12. doi:10.7759/cureus.56025 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11008553/

[ii] Günther R, Lichtenberg J, Steinmann P, et al. Ivermectin as a Candidate in the Treatment of Cancer. In: Advances in Anticancer Agents. IntechOpen. February 10, 2021. doi:10.5772/intechopen.95135. https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/78376?form=MG0AV3

[iii] Hu B, Tan H, Yu L, Liao Q, Guo W. Repurposing Ivermectin to augment chemotherapy's efficacy in osteosarcoma. Hum Exp Toxicol. 2022;41:9603271221143693. doi:10.1177/09603271221143693 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/09603271221143693?rfr_dat=cr_pub++0pubmed&url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori%3Arid%3Acrossref.org

[iv] Xu N, Lu M, Wang J, et al. Ivermectin induces apoptosis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma via mitochondrial pathway. BMC Cancer. 2021;21(1):1307. Published 2021 Dec 7. doi:10.1186/s12885-021-09021-x https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8650430/

[v] Xu N, Lu M, Wang J, et al. Ivermectin induces apoptosis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma via mitochondrial pathway. BMC Cancer. 2021;21(1):1307. Published 2021 Dec 7. doi:10.1186/s12885-021-09021-x https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8650430/

[vi] Hayashi A, Kamio K, Miyanaga A, et al. Ivermectin Enhances Paclitaxel Efficacy by Overcoming Resistance Through Modulation of ABCB1 in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer. Anticancer Res. 2024;44(12):5271-5282. doi:10.21873/anticanres.17355 https://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/44/12/5271.long

[vii] Zhao L, Zhang C, Luo Y, et al. Ivermectin converts cold tumors hot and synergizes with immune checkpoint blockade for treatment of breast cancer. NPJ Breast Cancer. 2021;7: 3. doi:10.1038/s41523-021-00229-5. Available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41523-021-00229-5.pdf?form=MG0AV3

[viii] Zhou S, Wu H, Ning W, et al. Ivermectin has New Application in Inhibiting Colorectal Cancer Cell Growth. Front Pharmacol. 2021;12:717529. Published 2021 Aug 13. doi:10.3389/fphar.2021.717529 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8415024/

[ix] Liu H, Chai Z, Gao Y, Wang Y, Lu M. Ivermectin inhibits the growth of ESCC by activating the ATF4-mediated endoplasmic reticulum stress-autophagy pathway. Acta Biochim Biophys Sin (Shanghai). Published online November 22, 2024. doi:10.3724/abbs.2024210 https://www.sciengine.com/ABBS/doi/10.3724/abbs.2024210

[x] Jiang L, Sun YJ, Song XH, et al. Ivermectin inhibits tumor metastasis by regulating the Wnt/β-catenin/integrin β1/FAK signaling pathway. Am J Cancer Res. 2022;12(10):4502-4519. Published 2022 Oct 15. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9641399/

[xi][xi] Hu X, Ju Y, Zhang YK. Ivermectin as a potential therapeutic strategy for glioma. J Neurosci Res. 2024;102(1):e25254. doi:10.1002/jnr.25254 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jnr.25254 

[xii] Nakanishi A, Okumura H, Hashita T, et al. Ivermectin Inhibits HBV Entry into the Nucleus by Suppressing KPNA2. Viruses. 2022;14(11):2468. Published 2022 Nov 8. doi:10.3390/v14112468 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9695645/

[xiii] Li Z, Li N, Ndzie Noah ML, Shao Q, Zhan X. Pharmacoproteomics reveals energy metabolism pathways as therapeutic targets of ivermectin in ovarian cancer toward 3P medical approaches. EPMA J. 2024;15(4):711-737. Published 2024 Nov 25. doi:10.1007/s13167-024-00385-1 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13167-024-00385-1

[xiv] Su MC, Lee AM, Zhang W, et al. Computational Modeling to Identify Drugs Targeting Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer Characterized by Heightened Glycolysis. Pharmaceuticals (Basel). 2024;17(5):569. Published 2024 Apr 29. doi:10.3390/ph17050569 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11124089/

[xv] Feng Y, Wang J, Cai B, Bai X, Zhu Y. Ivermectin accelerates autophagic death of glioma cells by inhibiting glycolysis through blocking GLUT4 mediated JAK/STAT signaling pathway activation. Environ Toxicol. 2022;37(4):754-764. doi:10.1002/tox.23440 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/tox.23440

[xvi] Fan N, Zhang L, Wang Z, Ding H, Yue Z. Ivermectin Inhibits Bladder Cancer Cell Growth and Induces Oxidative Stress and DNA Damage. Anticancer Agents Med Chem. 2024;24(5):348-357. doi:10.2174/0118715206274095231106042833 https://www.eurekaselect.com/article/136875

[xvii] Draganov D, Han Z, Rana A, Bennett N, Irvine DJ, Lee PP. Ivermectin converts cold tumors hot and synergizes with immune checkpoint blockade for treatment of breast cancer. NPJ Breast Cancer. 2021;7(1):22. Published 2021 Mar 2. doi:10.1038/s41523-021-00229-5 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7925581/

[xviii] Alghamdi HA, Al-Zharani M, Aljarba NH, et al. Efficacy of ivermectin against colon cancer induced by dimethylhydrazine in male wistar rats. Saudi Pharm J. 2022;30(9):1273-1282. doi:10.1016/j.jsps.2022.06.024 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9563063/

[xix] Zhou S, Wu H, Ning W, et al. Ivermectin has New Application in Inhibiting Colorectal Cancer Cell Growth. Front Pharmacol. 2021;12:717529. Published 2021 Aug 13. doi:10.3389/fphar.2021.717529 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8415024/

[xx] Liu Y, Fang S, Sun Q, Liu B. Anthelmintic drug ivermectin inhibits angiogenesis, growth and survival of glioblastoma through inducing mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2016;480(3):415-421. doi:10.1016/j.bbrc.2016.10.064 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006291X16317429?via%3Dihub 

[xxi] Ishikawa C, Senba M, Mori N. Importin β1 regulates cell growth and survival during adult T cell leukemia/lymphoma therapy. Invest New Drugs. 2021;39(2):317-329. doi:10.1007/s10637-020-01007-z https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10637-020-01007-z

[xxii] Li Z, Li N, Ndzie Noah ML, Shao Q, Zhan X. Pharmacoproteomics reveals energy metabolism pathways as therapeutic targets of ivermectin in ovarian cancer toward 3P medical approaches. EPMA J. 2024;15(4):711-737. Published 2024 Nov 25. doi:10.1007/s13167-024-00385-1 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13167-024-00385-1

[xxiii] Hu B, Tan H, Yu L, Liao Q, Guo W. Repurposing Ivermectin to augment chemotherapy's efficacy in  osteosarcoma. Hum Exp Toxicol. 2022;41:9603271221143693. doi:10.1177/09603271221143693 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/09603271221143693?rfr_dat=cr_pub++0pubmed&url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori%3Arid%3Acrossref.org  https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/09603271221143693?rfr_dat=cr_pub++0pubmed&url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori%3Arid%3Acrossref.org  

[xxiv] Morinaga S, Han Q, Mizuta K, et al. Ivermectin Combined With Recombinant Methioninase (rMETase) Synergistically Eradicates MiaPaCa-2 Pancreatic Cancer Cells. Anticancer Res. 2025;45(1):97-103. doi:10.21873/anticanres.17396 https://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/45/1/97.long

[xxv] Brambillasca S, Cera MR, Andronache A, et al. Novel selective inhibitors of macropinocytosis-dependent growth in pancreatic ductal carcinoma. Biomed Pharmacother. 2024;177:116991. doi:10.1016/j.biopha.2024.116991 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11287759/

[xxvi] Lv S, Wu Z, Luo M, et al. Integrated analysis reveals FOXA1 and Ku70/Ku80 as targets of ivermectin in prostate cancer. Cell Death Dis. 2022;13(9):754. Published 2022 Sep 1. doi:10.1038/s41419-022-05182-0 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9436997/

[xxvii] Li Z, Li N, Ndzie Noah ML, Shao Q, Zhan X. Pharmacoproteomics reveals energy metabolism pathways as therapeutic targets of ivermectin in ovarian cancer toward 3P medical approaches. EPMA J. 2024;15(4):711-737. Published 2024 Nov 25. doi:10.1007/s13167-024-00385-1 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13167-024-00385-1