Niclosamide, which was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for treating tapeworm infections in 1982, is also being investigated as a possible treatment for many different types of cancer including colon, breast, prostate, glioblastoma, osteosarcoma, ovarian, leukaemia, lung and oral cancers.
Researchers have found that niclosamide can damage tumour cell mitochondria which causes them to self-destruct (apoptosis) and prevents tumour cell proliferation.
David Needham, Emeritus Professor at the in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science at Duke University in the US, says niclosamide is almost unique in the way it targets mitochondria which could be used to kill cancer cells.
‘It does not necessarily “starve” cancer cells by blocking their food intake, it reduces the amount of Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) that they can produce,
ATP is the energy molecule that all cancer growth pathways use to activate these systems. Once it gets inside the mitochondria it induces the cancer cells to commit suicide (apoptosis).’
The mitochondria in cancer cells are not that good, they are deformed and vulnerable to outside intervention, he explains
‘When niclosamide acts on them it makes them leak some of their contents and this tells the cell to kill itself.
Normal cells on the other hand, with good and functioning mitochondria, will certainly be compromised depending on the dose, to produce less APT, but they temporarily go to sleep and can recover.’
‘The challenge now is to find the right dose in cell culture experiments on both normal and cancer cells and see if there is a big enough difference such that the niclosamide can therapeutically affect the cancer cells without adversely affecting the normal cells.’
- Niclosamide: The cancer connection - November 6, 2026
- Meningitis – the vaccination story - March 20, 2026
- Biden Declines Second Term: Health Concerns - July 23, 2024
