A recent report has found that a growing number of cancer patients in the United States are being prescribed Ivermectin instead of undergoing chemotherapy, reports The Independent.
The study, published by JAMA Network, revealed that prescriptions for the anti-parasitic medication for cancer patients doubled between January and July 2025. The researchers, led by a team from the University of California-Los Angeles, also found that white southern males were most likely to take the drug.
Ivermectin is mainly used by veterinarians, but was popularised among humans by Covid vaccine sceptics during the pandemic. It has no proven medicinal properties beyond being an effective treatment for parasitic infections.
The research letter stated: “The elevated prescribing observed among patients with cancer is particularly concerning; individuals facing life-threatening illness may delay or forgo conventional treatments in favour of unproven therapies, potentially allowing their disease to progress.”
A specific celebrity endorsement referred to in the study was from well-known actor Mel Gibson, who on a US podcast in 2025 said that three of his friends survived cancer by taking Ivermectin and benzimidazole, a compound found in agricultural chemicals.
Drs Michelle Rockwell, Katherine Kahn and Mark Fendrick, who authored the study, wrote: “The podcast in which celebrities endorsed combination Ivermectin-benzimidazoles for cancer treatment was viewed by more than 60m individuals across multiple platforms.
“The demographic and regional variation that we observed in prescribing rates mirrors the audience characteristics of the podcasts and media platforms promoting these regimens, suggesting selective amplification and reach of health misinformation.”
The study found that Ivermectin prescriptions have escalated for patients across the board, and were 2.5 times higher among cancer patients between 1 January and 31 July 2025 than they were in the same time period in 2024.
Gibson appeared on the podcast on 9 January 2025.
MacMillan Cancer Support chief medical officer Richard Simcock said: “There is currently zero real-world clinical evidence that it might be helpful in the treatment of cancer. And yet, with just a few clicks on X and Instagram, I was astounded by the sheer number of people professing Ivermectin’s benefits for cancer treatment and even trying to find ways to buy it.”
He said a lot of the disinformation stemmed from some existing studies of Ivermectin in the lab showing that the drug has the potential to help induce death in cancer cells when taken alongside conventional treatment.
However, Simcock stressed that lab studies cannot be directly replicated in humans.
Additionally, even the more promising lab tests were taken in conjunction with existing cancer drugs. Ivermectin and benzimidazole have never shown themselves to be effective in fighting cancer on their own.
Not only is Ivermectin not a proven treatment, it can also increase nausea and discomfort in cancer patients.
Despite Secretary of Health and Human Services, John F Kennedy Jr, promoting the use of Ivermectin as an alternative to the Covid vaccine on his podcast before working for the White House, Ivermectin is not currently regulated by the Food and Drug Administration for anything beyond fighting parasites.
Study details
Ivermectin-Benzimidazole Prescribing Following Celebrity Endorsement
Michelle Rockwell, Katherine Kahn, Mark Fendrick et al.
Published in JAMA Network on 12 May 2026
Introduction
In early January 2025, high-profile media figures promoted a combination Ivermectin-fenbendazole regimen as an off-label cancer treatment on a widely-consumed podcast (The Joe Rogan Experience), with claims rapidly disseminated across multiple media platforms. Although the National Cancer Institute recently announced plans to study Ivermectin for the treatment of cancer, rigorous clinical trial evidence does not presently support its use, nor does evidence support the use of fenbendazole or other benzimidazoles for cancer therapy.
To examine a temporal association between the release of the podcast and combination Ivermectin-benzimidazole use, we compared Ivermectin-benzimidazole prescribing patterns among patients with and without cancer from the period of January 1, 2025, to July 31, 2025 (after celebrity endorsement) with corresponding monthly rates in 2024 (before celebrity endorsement).
Methods
Using deidentified electronic health record (EHR) data from a multicentre research network (TriNetX) representing 67 health care organisations from all US census regions, we identified combination Ivermectin-benzimidazole prescribed to 18-to-90-year-old patients in ambulatory care settings (primary care, outpatient specialist, or emergency department visits) during the period of January 1, 2018, to July 31, 2025. Combination prescribing was defined as 1 or more prescription for Ivermectin and 1 or more prescription for a benzimidazole (albendazole, fenbendazole, mebendazole, and thiabendazole) occurring on the same calendar day.
We calculated monthly combination Ivermectin-benzimidazole prescribing rates per 1000 patients overall and among patients with 1 or more diagnosis of cancer (International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision [ICD-10] codes C00-D49 within the prior 12 months). As a validation exercise, we compared our prescribing rates against reported rates from a diverse array of national data sources and found them to be comparable.
After applying age- and sex-adjusted Poisson regression models of the monthly aggregated prescription counts to offset the total number of patients, we calculated rate ratios (RR) to compare monthly prescribing rates during the period of January 1, 2025, to July 31, 2025, with corresponding monthly rates in 2024 overall and for patients with cancer. Results were stratified by age, sex, race (as reported to TriNetX in EHR, categorised as Asian, black or African American, white, and other [American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, or other]), and US census region (as reported in the EHR data). To account for multiple comparisons, we report Bonferroni-adjusted 99.5% CIs (2-sided α = 0.005).
The Carilion Clinic institutional review board determined that this study was exempt due to the use of deidentified data; the requirement for informed consent was waived. Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) reporting guidelines informed the preparation of this report.
Results
Within the cohort of 68 373 949 patients, overall Ivermectin-benzimidazole prescribing rates doubled from January 1, 2025, to July 31, 2025, compared with January 1, 2024, to July 31, 2024 (RR = 1.97; 99.5% CI, 1.70-2.29) (Figure). Relative increases in Ivermectin-benzimidazole prescribing were higher in patients ages 18 to 64 years compared with those 65 years or older (RR = 2.12 [99.5% CI, 2.36-2.99] vs RR = 1.25 [99.5% CI, 0.91-1.59]), White patients compared with other racial groups (Asian, black, or other in the dataset) (RR = 2.61 [99.5% CI, 2.21-3.09] vs RR = 1.38 [99.5% CI, 1.03-1.73]), and in the South compared with other census regions (RR = 3.12 [99.5% CI, 2.54-3.87] vs RR for combined other regions = 1.36 [99.5% CI, 1.01-1.72]).
Among patients with cancer, prescribing rates were over 2.5 times higher from January 1, 2025, to July 31, 2025, compared with January 1, 2024, to July 31, 2024 (RR = 2.63; 99.5% CI, 2.08-3.24) (Figure). Relative increases in Ivermectin-benzimidazole prescribing were higher in male compared with female patients (RR = 2.79 [99.5% CI, 2.38-3.19] vs RR = 1.93 [99.5% CI, 1.61-2.32]), patients between ages 18 to 64 years compared with those aged 65 years or older (RR = 2.68 [99.5% CI, 2.36-2.99] vs RR = 1.61 [99.5% CI, 0.97-2.19]), White patients compared with other racial groups (RR = 3.05 [99.5% CI, 2.80-3.41 vs RR = 1.28 [99.5% CI, 0.93-1.63]), and in the South compared with other census regions (RR = 3.91 [99.5% CI, 3.25-4.32] and RR for combined other regions = 1.27 [99.5% CI, 1.00-1.56]).
Discussion
Ivermectin-benzimidazole prescribing rose rapidly following celebrity endorsement in January 2025, with disproportionate increases among male patients, white patients, residents of the US South, and individuals with cancer. The elevated prescribing observed among patients with cancer is particularly concerning; individuals facing life-threatening illness may delay or forgo conventional treatments in favour of unproven therapies, potentially allowing their disease to progress.
The podcast in which celebrities endorsed combination Ivermectin-benzimidazoles for cancer treatment was viewed by more than 60 million individuals across multiple platforms. The demographic and regional variation that we observed in prescribing rates mirror the audience characteristics of the podcasts and media platforms promoting these regimens, suggesting selective amplification and reach of health misinformation.
Limitations include the observational design, which cannot establish causality; prescription data reflecting orders rather than dispensing or consumption; potential misclassification of cancer status; and the large geographic regions used in the analysis. In addition, we did not assess whether patients substituted Ivermectin-benzimidazole therapy for conventional cancer treatment or if conventional cancer care way delayed by such use. Nevertheless, our findings extend prior work on the potential influence of celebrity endorsement on health care utilisation.Such influence gains traction when institutional trust erodes. Protecting vulnerable populations from misinformation-driven deviations from evidence-based care requires coordinated action by clinicians, health systems, researchers, and policymakers.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Why Ivermectin is making a comeback in the US
Medical influencers come with serious side effects
FDA settles Ivermectin lawsuit brought by doctors