Cancer patient calls for unproven anti-parasitic treatment after actor’s podcast appearance

Prescriptions for ivermectin and another anti-parasitic drug surged among cancer patients after actor Mel Gibson discussed the unproven treatment on Joe Rogan’s popular podcast, a report said. study published today JAMA network open.

Researchers say these findings raise concerns about the efficacy of celebrity endorsements that can encourage people with life-threatening illnesses to delay or forgo conventional treatments that are known to be effective in favor of unproven and possibly dangerous treatments.

Prescriptions for cancer patients increased by 2.5 times

This study analyzed electronic medical records of 68,373,949 patients across 67 U.S. health systems to examine prescription rates for ivermectin and benzimidazole.

No clinical trials have been conducted regarding the safety and efficacy of ivermectin benzimidazole in the treatment of human cancer.

Several cell and animal studies have shown that this drug may cause anti-cancer effects. However, Skylar B. Johnson, MD, of the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah, said the doses needed to produce even a small effect are usually considered toxic to humans. Johnson, who was not involved in the study, told CIDRAP News that he is concerned about how ivermectin may affect the way the body processes cancer treatments and other medications.

Despite this lack of evidence and possible risks, Gibson claimed on Logan’s podcast in January 2025 that the combination of ivermectin and benzimidazole had cured cancer in several of his friends.

The episode was viewed 60 million times in its first month, and prescription rates for both drugs skyrocketed.

The number of prescriptions for all patients doubled from January 1, 2025 to July 31, 2025 compared to January 1, 2024 to July 31, 2024. For cancer patients, prescription rates were even higher, increasing 2.5 times.

The study found that white patients, men, and those living in the South were most likely to be prescribed ivermectin-benzimidazole.

The role of celebrity influencers

Even if people aren’t harmed by taking these drugs, unnecessary prescribing can create extra costs and clog an already crippled health care system, explained lead author Michelle Rockwell, Ph.D., RD, a health services researcher at Virginia Tech.

“Clinicians talk about how difficult it is for patients to ask for or request drugs that they truly feel will be effective,” she said. “And I think that’s where these celebrity influencers play a really big role.”

Dissatisfaction with the health care system, drug prices, and insurance barriers creates real grievances that make people vulnerable to exploitation, explained Dr. Matthew Facciani, a social scientist at the Yale School of Public Health who was not involved in the study.

“We don’t know if the patient was taking ivermectin alongside or in place of conventional treatment,” Facciani said. “This is a distinction that has very different public health implications.”

Ivermectin was seen as a potential treatment for COVID-19 early in the pandemic, but some clinical trials found it was not effective. lower risk of serious illness, prevent hospitalizationor Reduce time to recovery. Misinformation about this drug Overdose calls soar To poison control center in 2021.

silver lining

The study authors acknowledge that they only tracked whether patients received their prescriptions, not whether they used the drugs. Others may have tried to obtain these drugs without a prescription. For example, produce retailers sell ivermectin preparations for livestock.

And while the spike in prescriptions occurred after Gibson appeared on Logan, the findings don’t explain whether other factors drove this activity. Still, given the timing, it suggests that the actor’s endorsement had a powerful effect.

If celebrities can persuade people to make bad medical decisions, they can also do the opposite. Rockwell noted that after Katie Couric underwent a televised colonoscopy in 2000, colorectal cancer screening rates nationwide increased by 20 percent. 20%.

The demographic patterns revealed in the study also “basically give public health agencies a map” of where these reliable messengers are most needed, Facciani said.

“Clinical encounters are probably too late and too short to be the primary point of intervention,” Facciani said. “What is needed instead is an increased public health presence in the digital space and meeting people where they already are.”