Several treatment options are available for people with stage 4 cancer, which is the most advanced stage of the disease. These include chemotherapy, surgery, and immunotherapy. Each option has different outcomes and success rates. Some treatment methods may also be combined with others to increase the effectiveness of each. Chemotherapy is a type of medication that uses drugs to kill cancer cells. It can be used alone or with other treatments such as immunotherapy or hormone therapy.
Immunotherapy is a type of cancer treatment that helps your immune system fight against the cancer. It can be used alone or with other types of treatment such as radiation or chemotherapy. Hormone therapy can decrease the growth of cancer cells by lowering your levels of certain hormones, such as testosterone and estrogen.
Another potential treatment for stage 4 cancer is fenbendazole, an anthelmintic drug that can reduce the size of tumors and prevent their spread. It works by blocking the action of a protein called GSK-3. This protein controls a cell cycle checkpoint that can block the death of a cancer cell. Fenbendazole can be given intravenously or orally and may work well as a standalone therapy or in combination with other treatment options.
A team led by Dr. Tara Williamson at the University of Michigan has shown that mebendazole (FZ) — an analog of albendazole — is able to inhibit cancer cell proliferation, induce apoptosis and suppress metastasis in mouse and human colorectal cancer models. They found that fZ interferred with microtubules, inhibited glucose uptake and expression of GLUT transporters, and blocked glycolysis by preventing hexokinase II activity. In addition, fZ induced the mitochondrial translocation of p53 and caused apoptosis in CRC cells.
They further showed that fenbendazole had time-dependent anti-proliferative effects in 5-fluorouracil-resistant SNU-C5 and SNU-C5/5-FUR cells. In addition, fenbendazole caused G2/M cell cycle arrest and induced apoptosis in both wild-type and p53-mutant cells. The p53-dependent mechanism of fenbendazole-induced apoptosis included activation of autophagy and ferroptosis.
To further investigate the cytotoxicity of fenbendazole in vivo, they used an in vitro clonogenic assay to measure the ability of different formulations to suppress A549 cell colony formation. In this assay, the researchers tested free fenbendazole, RAPA encapsulated in mPEG-b-PCL micelles, and a combination of FEN and RAPA. They found that the FEN/RAPA-loaded mPEG-b-PCL particles were the most potent and had high sensitivity to A549. In addition, the release profiles of FEN and RAPA from the mPEG-b-PCL microcapsules were consistent with the observed cytotoxicity. The mPEG-b-PCL nanoparticles also exhibited good stability and solubility in the cellular environment. fenbendazole stage 4 cancer