Ivermectin in cancer treatment: should healthcare providers caution or explore its therapeutic potential?
A 2025 review that weighs the laboratory promise against the absence of human trials and concludes that clinicians should counter misinformation while supporting proper trials.
Overview
The review finds that in vitro and animal studies show anticancer effects through Wnt/beta-catenin and Akt/mTOR signalling, but that clinical evidence in humans is limited, with no large randomised controlled trials confirming benefit (Patel review 2025). It notes that observational studies and case reports show the risks of self-medication driven by social media, which has led to toxicity in some oncology patients, and calls the gap between preclinical and clinical evidence a critical translational gap (Patel review 2025).
- No large randomised trial confirms any therapeutic benefit of ivermectin in cancer.
- Self-medication driven by social media has caused toxicity in oncology patients.
The clearest recent statement of where the evidence stands: promising in a dish, untested in people, and already causing harm through self-dosing.
- Narrative review; it does not add new data.
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