Acta Med. 2017, 60: 5-11
Anthelmintic Flubendazole and Its Potential Use in Anticancer Therapy
Flubendazole is a widely used anthelmintic drug belonging to benzimidazole group. The molecular mechanism of action of flubendazole is based on its specific binding to tubulin, which results in disruption of microtubule structure and function, and in the interference with the microtubule-mediated transport of secretory vesicles in absorptive tissues of helminths. The microtubule-disrupting properties of benzimidazole derivatives raised recently interest in these compounds as possible anti-cancer agents. In this minireview flubendazole effects towards selected human malignant cells including myeloma, leukemia, neuroblastoma, breast cancer, colorectal cancer and melanoma are discussed along with basic data on its pharmacokinetics, metabolism and toxicity.
Keywords
flubendazole, benzimidazole carbamate, anti-cancer treatment, melanoma, microtubules, mitotic catastrophe.
Funding
This work was supported by the projects PRVOUK P37/01 and SVV 2016 of Charles University, Faculty of Medicine in Hradec Králové.
References
Copyright
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.
