A deworming drug added to temozolomide slowed glioblastoma cells in lab tests
Original title: The Effect of the Combination of Temozolomide and Flubendazole on Glioblastoma Cells.
How far along is this research?
- Lab cells
- Animals
- Review
- Tested in people
This was done on cells in a lab, not in people. It is a very early step.
This was only done in cells in a dish and in mice, not in people.
The short version
In lab dishes, adding a drug called flubendazole to the standard chemo drug temozolomide: A chemotherapy taken as a capsule, used for some brain tumors. Your team checks your blood counts while you are on it. See the glossary slowed glioblastoma: A glioma that is given grade 4. Grade 4 is the highest grade there is. The tumor grows fast. Treatment usually starts soon after it is found. It often means surgery, and then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary cells more than the chemo drug alone.
What was studied. Researchers grew three glioblastoma: A glioma that is given grade 4. Grade 4 is the highest grade there is. The tumor grows fast. Treatment usually starts soon after it is found. It often means surgery, and then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary cell lines in the lab. They treated the cells with temozolomide: A chemotherapy taken as a capsule, used for some brain tumors. Your team checks your blood counts while you are on it. See the glossary, with flubendazole, or with both together. They also gave the drugs to mice to see how much reached the brain and the tumor.
What they found. The two drugs together slowed cell growth more than no treatment and more than temozolomide: A chemotherapy taken as a capsule, used for some brain tumors. Your team checks your blood counts while you are on it. See the glossary alone. Cells treated with flubendazole changed shape, showed signs of cell death, had disrupted internal scaffolding, and got stuck in one stage of cell division. Giving both drugs together also changed how much drug built up in the cells and in the brain and tumor tissue of the mice.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: This is an early hint that flubendazole might change how glioblastoma: A glioma that is given grade 4. Grade 4 is the highest grade there is. The tumor grows fast. Treatment usually starts soon after it is found. It often means surgery, and then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary cells respond to temozolomide: A chemotherapy taken as a capsule, used for some brain tumors. Your team checks your blood counts while you are on it. See the glossary. The researchers say the combination needs much more lab testing before anyone knows if it helps people. Nothing here changes treatment today.
What it doesn't mean: This does not mean flubendazole is a treatment for glioblastoma: A glioma that is given grade 4. Grade 4 is the highest grade there is. The tumor grows fast. Treatment usually starts soon after it is found. It often means surgery, and then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary. The work was done in cells in a dish and in mice, not in people. No person with a brain tumor was treated in this study, so it says nothing about whether it helps patients live longer or feel better. It is not a cure, and it is many steps away from everyday care. Do not add flubendazole to your treatment. Talk to your own doctor about your care.
Source: PubMed, July 9, 2026 · Read the original
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