- Published
Animal dewormer and a drug used to treat scabies are being sold and promoted as unproven cancer treatments, a BBC investigation has found.
asserted
investigation → publish → treatments
Following a tip off, an undercover journalist was able to buy fenbendazole and ivermectin from a stairlift salesman in south Wales, and also found them for sale on Amazon.
Macmillan Cancer Support said it was concerned by the findings and that a growing number of people were asking about the medicines, despite "no clinical evidence" that they work.
asserted
they → follow → evidence
Amazon removed the products after we contacted them, and said it had "proactive measures in place" to stop prohibited products being listed by third-party sellers.
asserted
products → remove → sellers
Senior doctors are worried vulnerable patients could be put at risk by taking the medicines, as they say it could harm or delay conventional treatment.
uncertain
it → worry → treatment
Six months ago, Rebecca Holder contacted the BBC after a visit from stairlift salesman Jason Sarver.
asserted
Holder → contact → Sarver
She said Sarver and her father Bob, who had a brain tumour, lung cancer and needed help with his mobility, had been discussing stairlifts when the salesman changed the topic to talk about the drugs.
asserted
salesman → say → drugs
Ivermectin is an anti-parasitic drug used to treat conditions like scabies, while fenbendazole is an animal dewormer.
asserted
fenbendazole → use → scabies
The BBC has seen videos and social posts with thousands - sometimes millions - of views, with unproven claims that these medicines could help treat cancer.
uncertain
medicines → see → cancer
Hollywood actor Mel Gibson claimed on a popular US podcast that the drugs successfully treated three of his friends who had cancer.
asserted
who → claim → cancer
"Jason started to say that he could get hold of a treatment that wasn't available on the NHS, that was known to shrink brain tumours," Rebecca said.
uncertain
Rebecca → start → tumours
"So I wrote down everything he said about these medicines... fenbendazole, ivermectin...
asserted
he → write → medicines
I couldn't quite believe what he was saying."
asserted
he → believe → what
Rebecca said Sarver offered to sell her dad, from Monmouthshire, the medicines.
asserted
Sarver → say → medicines
An undercover BBC reporter contacted Sarver posing as someone with a relative who had cancer.
asserted
who → contact → cancer
He repeated the same claims and sent a link to videos making unproven assertions that the drugs were effective against cancer.
"I do a lot of research, medical papers, white papers, anything that comes out fresh, I am on it," Sarver said.
uncertain
Sarver → repeat → it
"I'm not a doctor, I just pass what I hear on."
asserted
I → pass → what
He went on to supply the BBC with fenbendazole and ivermectin tablets for £100 which he said would be "two to three months' supply" to treat lung cancer and "other cancers as well".
asserted
he → go → cancer
He said his work selling stairlifts meant he saw "a lot of ill people".
asserted
he → say → people
"I can't help myself, I've got to tell them about it," he said.
asserted
he → help → it
Ivermectin is a prescription-only medicine in the UK, which means it can only be given by a licensed person, such as a doctor or pharmacist.
asserted
it → mean → doctor
It gained global attention as a potential "miracle drug" during the coronavirus pandemic, although clinical trials have consistently shown it does not provide clinical benefits for Covid-19 patients.
asserted
it → gain → patients
The MHRA medical regulator said it was not licensed for cancer treatment.
asserted
it → say → treatment
Animal dewormer fenbendazole is an anti-parasitic drug which is not licensed for use in humans in the UK.
asserted
which → license → UK
It can be bought in small quantities for animals without a prescription, according to the Veterinary Medicines Directorate.
uncertain
It → buy → Directorate
While some trials exist into their anti-cancer properties, Macmillan Cancer Support said there was "zero real-world clinical evidence" to back up the claims about ivermectin.
uncertain
Support → exist → ivermectin
The charity's chief medical officer, Prof Richard Simcock, said he was concerned the BBC was able to easily buy the medicines without a prescription.
asserted
BBC → say → prescription
"We're seeing an increasing number of people asking about these two products," he said.
"
asserted
he → see → products
We're worried that they're not getting up-to-date, effective and accurate information about what these drugs are capable of.
asserted
drugs → worry → what
"If someone is thinking about taking these drugs, we'd really urged them to talk to their clinical team or ring the clinical helplines at Macmillan where we can provide information about what safe and effective care might look like.
uncertain
care → think → what
He added this kind of misinformation was often fuelled by the appeal of personal anecdotes, especially if they came from someone a person already knows.
asserted
person → add → someone
Cancer Research UK also warned that, while there was some anti-cancer data from testing fenbendazole using mice, there was no scientific evidence to prove that it worked in people.
asserted
it → warn → people
Jared Wright, from Wisconsin in the USA, told the BBC that his mother Kelly started taking ivermectin and fenbendazole after being diagnosed with cancer last year.
asserted
mother → tell → cancer
He said she ignored doctors' advice to accept conventional treatment and became a "victim of misinformation about cancer", putting her faith in the drugs in the hope of a cure.
asserted
she → say → cure
"They were delivered to our house, these pill bottles, and she just started eating the ivermectin and the fenbendazole three times a day," Jared said.
"
asserted
Jared → deliver → ivermectin
All she had read online was that it cures cancer."
Jared said his mother died shortly after her 63rd birthday in January.
asserted
mother → read → January
She was shaking, she couldn't see, she had this glaze over her eyes, she couldn't speak anymore," he said.
asserted
he → shake → eyes
"She had another 20 years or more - she would be alive right now if she had the correct information, if she had listened to me and gone to an oncologist."
asserted
she → have → oncologist
The BBC discovered it was easy to get hold of the drugs that Kelly hoped would save her.
asserted
Kelly → discover → her
We found multiple websites offering delivery to UK addresses and successfully made several orders with Amazon.
Supplying prescription-only medicines is an offence under the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 unless you are an "appropriate practitioner" such as a doctor or a pharmacist.
asserted
you → find → doctor
The MHRA said, where there was evidence that a veterinary medicine is supplied for humans or a prescription-only medicine is sold by someone other than a qualified healthcare professional, it could take enforcement action, including criminal investigation and prosecution.
uncertain
it → say → investigation
…and 13 more, not listed.
