Though researchers have been studying the animal deworming drug ivermectin for decades, there is no evidence that it’s a safe or effective way to treat cancer in people.
However, a June 2026 study put the topic back in the spotlight.
After being downloaded more than 85,000 times before its official publication, the study gained traction on social media — particularly X — and within alternative health communities, where it was shared widely to bolster broader claims about repurposing antiparasitic drugs as cancer treatments.
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Shortly after the study was published, scientists raised serious concerns about how the study arrived at its findings, conflicts of interest and the peer-review process.
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For one, the study did not have a comparison group to determine whether patients taking a combination of ivermectin and another antiparasitic truly saw improvements due to these drugs or the conventional cancer therapies they were also taking. Moreover, the study relied on patients’ own self-reports rather than medical record information.
Unlike medical records, self-reports cannot be independently verified and are more susceptible to bias, making them less reliable as scientific evidence.
