Prescriptions for Ivermectin and Fenbendazole Rose Sharply Among Cancer Patients After Podcast Discussion

Prescriptions for ivermectin and fenbendazole among cancer patients rose more than 2.5 times following a January 2025 podcast episode in which actor-director Mel Gibson said three friends with Stage 4 cancer no longer had the disease after taking the drugs off-label.

The episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, which received more than 60 million views in its first month, featured Gibson stating the three friends were cured "at all" by the regimen. Ivermectin is an antiparasitic drug that gained attention during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Fenbendazole is a veterinary dewormer not approved by the FDA for human use. In the months after the January 9, 2025 appearance, prescription rates for the combination jumped. The increases were highest among young men, white patients and those in the South, where rates rose to more than three times 2024 levels.

The study was led by researchers from UCLA and Virginia Tech.

Laboratory cell and animal studies have shown some anti-cancer activity for both drugs. However, the doses needed for even modest effects would typically be considered toxic in humans, according to Dr. Skyler B. Johnson of the University of Utah Huntsman Cancer Institute.

No human clinical trials have demonstrated that ivermectin and fenbendazole are safe or effective for treating cancer. Dr. John N. Mafi, senior author of the UCLA-led study, said in a press release that he wants patients to receive treatments known to help them live longer.

He added that the more than doubling in prescriptions for an unproven cancer treatment after one podcast raises concern that patients may be skipping or delaying therapies with established effectiveness. Dr. Katherine Kahn, a professor of medicine at UCLA and co-author, stated that not all widely shared health information is accurate, even from familiar or influential sources.

She said using unproven treatments can carry real risks if it delays care known to work.

The researchers noted their study does not prove the podcast caused the increase in prescriptions. It also remains unclear whether patients took the drugs in addition to or instead of standard treatments such as chemotherapy or radiation. Dr. Michelle Rockwell of Virginia Tech, the study's lead author, said the findings show some influences can affect care quickly.

She added that health systems face the challenge of providing timely and trustworthy information to patients. The National Cancer Institute announced earlier this year that it is studying ivermectin's possible anti-cancer properties in the preclinical stage.

The study also noted growing interest in ivermectin for other conditions, including online claims about hantavirus, though experts say high-quality human evidence is lacking for those uses as well.