Can ivermectin be repurposed to help chemo efficacy in osteosarcoma?

The anti-protozoal drug ivermectin may have the potential to help in the treatment of osteosarcoma, particularly in patients who are resistant to chemotherapy, according to a study.

Researchers performed proliferation, migration, and apoptosis assays in ivermectin-treated osteosarcoma cells and an osteosarcoma xenograft mouse model was used to investigate the in vivo efficacy of ivermectin.

Ivermectin was found to be effective. Regardless of cellular origin and genetic profiling, it acted synergistically with doxorubicin in osteosarcoma cells, by “suppressing inhibiting growth and migration, and inducing caspase-dependent apoptosis,” according to the study authors.

In vivo, ivermectin also demonstrated significant growth inhibition of osteosarcoma. The combination of ivermectin and doxorubicin resulted in greater efficacy than doxorubicin alone.

“Importantly, the effective dose of ivermectin was clinically feasible and did not cause significant toxicity in mice,” the authors concluded.

Reference
Hu B, Tan H, Yu L, et al. Repurposing Ivermectin to augment chemotherapy’s efficacy in osteosarcoma. Hum Exp Toxicol. 2022;41:9603271221143693. doi: 10.1177/09603271221143693. PMID: 36503300.