Ivermectin was touted as a cure for COVID, now it’s being tested for cancer. But what can it actually treat? |
Ivermectin was originally celebrated as a revolutionary treatment for parasitic disease in humans and animals. It has since evolved into a focal point of misinformation and heated debate.
During the early part of the COVID pandemic, it was touted on social media as a miracle cure for the virus, despite a lack of robust evidence.
Now the United States National Cancer Institute is looking into the drug as a potential cancer treatment, with early human clinical studies underway.
But what can it successfully treat?
The drug is a small organic chemical that can be extracted from the bacterium Streptomyces avermitilis. This bacterium grows in the soil, and was first found near the grounds of a Japanese golf course.
Ivermectin’s discovery in the 1970s was considered so important its discoverers were awarded the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
It was first approved for use in animals in 1981 and in humans in 1987. It’s now available in various brands as tablets and creams you apply to the skin.
Assessing the evidence
Governments use human clinical trials to decide whether to approve a medicine for sale.
But clinical trials aren’t the highest level of evidence to inform best practice and guide decisions. For that, there are Cochrane reviews.
A Cochrane review brings together a panel of experts who collate and assess all the relevant evidence on a........