The story of Joe Tippens, a cancer patient who claimed to be cured by taking dog dewormer for cancer, has drawn skepticism from people around the world. His “Joe Tippens Protocol” involved a combination of fenbendazole (marketed as Panacur), CBD oil, and curcumin (tumeric). While some peer-reviewed studies suggest that the drug may have anti-cancer properties, the federal government’s cancer agency says more study is needed and it is not recommended for human use.
The same genes that cause some cancers in people also trigger them in dogs, which makes the animals an attractive model for studying treatment approaches, Nicola Mason, a professor of medicine and pathobiology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. Mice are also used for cancer research, but mutated BRAF genes that cause mouse tumors do not always translate to success in humans, whose cells have more time to develop mutations.
One of the reasons dog cancers often resemble those in people is that selective breeding over thousands of years has created breeds with distinct genetic traits. For example, lymphoma is more common in golden retrievers and glioma, a brain cancer, is more likely in Boston terriers.
Regardless of the dog’s breed, most canines develop cancer over the course of several years, giving researchers an opportunity to watch them as they progress from pre-cancer mutations to full-blown tumors. Those observations could help scientists predict how and when a new treatment might work in humans. dog dewormer for cancer