A group of pro-Trump, COVID-denying doctors — including Dr. Drew Pinsky, Dr. Peter McCullough, Dr. Kelly Victory and others — falsely claimed in a non-peer reviewed paper that Ivermectin and Mebendazole improve cancer outcomes, notes The Conversation:
Though researchers have been studying the animal deworming drug ivermectin for decades, there is no evidence that it’s a safe or effective way to treat cancer in people.
However, a June 2026 study put the topic back in the spotlight. After being downloaded more than 85,000 times before its official publication, the study gained traction on social media – particularly X – and within alternative health communities, where it was shared widely to bolster broader claims about repurposing antiparasitic drugs as cancer treatments. While traditional news outlets were covering renewed public interest in ivermectin for cancer following the COVID-19 pandemic, much of the conversation surrounding this particular new study unfolded outside of mainstream media coverage.
Shortly after the study was published, scientists raised serious concerns about how the study arrived at its findings, conflicts of interest and the peer-review process.
For one, the study did not have a comparison group to determine whether patients taking a combination of ivermectin and another antiparasitic truly saw improvements due to these drugs or the conventional cancer therapies they were also taking. Moreover, the study relied on patients’ own self-reports rather than medical record information. Unlike medical records, self-reports cannot be independently verified and are more susceptible to bias, making them less reliable as scientific evidence.
Although the journal issued an Expression of Concern shortly after publication, the study has not yet been retracted.
Lead Stories reports:
Research experts told Lead Stories that the paper relies on an uncontrolled, self-reported survey with major bias, no independent verification of diagnoses or outcomes, and significant conflicts of interest. These flaws mean it cannot demonstrate that ivermectin or mebendazole improves cancer outcomes…
This paper was not published in a peer-reviewed biomedical journal, as would be expected of a clinical trial claiming to show such a breakthrough in the treatment of cancer. Instead, it was published in Zenodo, a free, open-access, general-purpose research repository of work by researchers from all disciplines. There is no mention of peer review.
Peer review is crucial because it serves as a quality-control checkpoint, validating the accuracy, credibility, and originality of scholarly research before publication. Experts in the field scrutinize methods and conclusions, helping filter out invalid or low-quality work and ensuring scientific integrity. It also improves the clarity and rigor of research papers.
Gideon Meyerowitz-Katz, a senior research fellow at the University of Wollongong in Australia, said in an April 15, 2026, email that the study is very limited in its scope because it’s a survey of patients attending a clinic run by the authors of the study:
This is a private clinic called The Wellness Company, which sells a variety of supplements and other non-standard treatments. All of the authors report being affiliated with this company and stand to financially benefit from the results of their publications. This is a very significant conflict of interest, which is appropriately reported in the study.
The “Conflict of Interest Statement” can be found on page 15 of the paper. Ivermectin and mebendazole are sold through the company website:
All authors are affiliated with and/or receive salary support from The Wellness Company (TWC), which operates the telemedicine platform through which the ivermectin-mebendazole combination evaluated in this analysis was prescribed and dispensed. TWC also offers compounded formulations of ivermectin and mebendazole as part of its clinical services.
(Sources: Lead Stories, The Conversation, Image: Dr. Drew)