The Medical Advisor

Introduction In recent years, interest has surged around repurposing established antiparasitic drugs as potential adjuncts in oncology. Among these, ivermectin and mebendazole —long-used to treat parasitic infections—have been spotlighted for their purported anticancer properties, driven largely by anecdotal case reports and limited preclinical research. On January 7, 2026, Dr William Makis  published a case report describing a  67-year-old female with stage IV thyroid cancer  who was treated with a high-dose ivermectin and mebendazole regimen and experienced a reported dramatic response. The case report compilation presented below, while intriguing, underscores the persistent gap between anecdotal clinical observations and rigorous, controlled clinical evidence. Notably, preclinical studies have demonstrated that mebendazole can inhibit thyroid cancer cell proliferation and metastasis in laboratory models, providing biologically plausible mechanisms that warrant furt...

MEBENDAZOLE and Thyroid Cancer - Inhibits tumor growth and prevents lung metastasis - shocking new Johns Hopkins research on Fenbendazole's sister drug. In a 2020 paper by Johns Hopkins researchers led by Tara Williamson, Mebendazole halted Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer and shrunk Papillary thyroid tumors. For those of you who know, Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer is one of the most aggressive cancers that exist. " The purpose of this study was to determine if mebendazole could be repurposed to effectively treat thyroid cancer, in particular before metastasis ." "In vitro, mebendazole potently inhibited the growth of a panel of human papillary and anaplastic thyroid cancer cells" "In aggressive anaplastic thyroid cancer cells, mebendazole significantly repressed migratory and invasive potential" "In vivo, mebendazole treatment resulted in significant papillary thyroid tumor regression and growth arrest of anaplastic tumors, with treated tumors disp...

TL;DR: In a 2025 meta-analysis of 50 studies , GLP-1 receptor agonists were not associated with increased overall cancer risk. The 2025–2026 evidence on Ozempic (semaglutide) and cancer risk is reassuring overall: large-scale reviews of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) show no meaningful increase in risk for thyroid, pancreatic, or other obesity-related cancers. Human data from tens of thousands of participants do not support the rodent-based concerns that prompted early FDA warnings. Some observational studies even hint at possible protective effects against certain cancers (likely tied to weight loss and metabolic improvements), but high-quality RCT evidence points to a neutral effect. Longer-term studies (≥5 years) are still needed for full certainty, as most trial follow-up has been under 2 years. Thyroid Cancer: The Main Historical Concern, Now Largely Addressed Rodent studies showed dose- and duration-dependent thyroid C-cell tumors (including medullary thyroid carcinoma, or M...