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Is ivermectin a more effective cancer treatment than chemotherapy? No, that's not true: The Food and Drug Administration says ivermectin is approved to treat parasitic worms, head lice and skin conditions like rosacea, but does not list it as a treatment for cancer. The National Cancer Institute told Lead Stories that it has no information "supporting the claim" about ivermectin as a cancer treatment.

The claim appeared in a post on Threads on October 22, 2024. The post's caption said:

Ivermectin is proving more effective then chemotherapy in treating cancer. Who knew? Ivermectin cost almost nothing and helps in many different ways.

This is what the post looked like on Threads at the time of writing:

(Source: Threads screenshot taken on Tue Oct 29 18:24:32 2024 UTC)

The post provided no evidence to support its assertion that ivermectin is a more effective cancer treatment than chemotherapy.

Food and Drug Administration

In an October 30, 2024, email to Lead Stories, a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) spokesperson said, "Ivermectin is not currently FDA-approved for the treatment of cancer." They continued:

Ivermectin tablets are approved by the FDA to treat people with intestinal strongyloidiasis and onchocerciasis, two conditions caused by parasitic worms. In addition, some topical forms of ivermectin are approved to treat external parasites like head lice and for skin conditions such as rosacea.

Among its many functions, the FDA regulates human and veterinary drugs, biological products and medical devices in the United States.

National Cancer Institute

When asked about the social media post suggesting that ivermectin is a more effective cancer treatment than chemotherapy, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) provided this response to Lead Stories in an email on October 29, 2024. The statement from the NCI Media Office said:

The National Cancer Institute, a component of the National Institutes of Health, disseminates evidence-based, scientifically accurate information about cancer to the public. It does not appear from a search of our resources that the NCI maintains any information supporting the claim.

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At the time this was written, a similar claim had previously been reviewed by AP News in 2023.

Additional Lead Stories fact checks of claims involving ivermectin are available here.