# Reverse swing-M, phase 1 study of repurposing mebendazole in recurrent high-grade glioma

Source: https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-patil-mebendazole-glioma-phase-1-cancer-med-2020/  
OnCo record `paper-patil-mebendazole-glioma-phase-1-cancer-med-2020` (Key paper). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

An Indian phase 1 trial gave a worm medicine to 11 people with recurrent glioblastoma alongside chemotherapy or re-irradiation, found the dose they could tolerate, and saw anaemia and nausea as the most common side effects.

## Summary

Eleven patients with recurrent glioblastoma were enrolled in an accelerated titration design: arm A1 added mebendazole to re-irradiation with concurrent temozolomide, arm B1 to lomustine and arm C1 to temozolomide alone (Reverse swing-M phase 1 2020). The maximum tolerated dose was not reached in arms A1 and C1, giving a recommended phase 2 dose of 1600 mg three times a day, while with lomustine it was 1600 mg three times a day and the recommended dose 800 mg three times a day; the most common adverse events were anaemia in 9 patients, nausea in 7 and fatigue in 6 (Reverse swing-M phase 1 2020).

## Fields

- Kind: Key paper
- Last checked: 2026-09-24
- Journal: Cancer Medicine
- Year: 2020
- DOI: 10.1002/cam4.3094
- Authors: Patil VM, Bhelekar A, Menon N, et al.
- Findings: Recommended phase 2 dose 1600 mg three times a day with temozolomide or chemoradiation; 800 mg three times a day with lomustine.; Anaemia 82 percent, nausea 64 percent, fatigue 55 percent.
- What it means: This is what legitimate repurposing looks like: a registered dose-finding trial that reports its toxicities. It says nothing yet about whether mebendazole helps glioblastoma.
- Caveats: Phase 1 with 11 patients; no efficacy endpoint.

## Sources

- Reverse swing-M phase 1 2020: https://doi.org/10.1002/cam4.3094
- PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32400117/

## Connected records

- cancers: [Glioma & glioblastoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/glioblastoma/)
- technologies: [Systematic drug repurposing](https://onco.cc/technologies/drug-repurposing/)
- drugs: [Lomustine (CCNU)](https://onco.cc/drugs/lomustine/), [Mebendazole](https://onco.cc/drugs/mebendazole/), [Temozolomide](https://onco.cc/drugs/temozolomide/)
- terms: [Dose-escalation designs (3+3, BOIN, dose-expansion)](https://onco.cc/terms/dose-escalation-design/), [Recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D)](https://onco.cc/terms/rp2d/)
- journals: [Cancer medicine](https://onco.cc/journals/cancer-medicine/)

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