JAMA Netw Open
The Rogan effect: ivermectin scripts double after cancer claim
Clinical Takeaway: Clinicians caring for patients with cancer may want to ask directly about alternative treatment use, particularly if resistance to recommended therapy is suspected. This off-label combination carries no efficacy evidence in cancer and may lead patients to delay or abandon proven therapies.
Celebrity health endorsements have a long track record of moving real prescribing behavior, but their reach into the weighty sphere of oncology has been less well documented. This analysis tested whether a high-profile January 2025 podcast appearance promoting ivermectin plus fenbendazole as a cancer treatment shifted prescribing in the months that followed.
The podcast pitched a specific pairing (ivermectin plus fenbendazole), but the study tracked ivermectin combined with any drug in the broader benzimidazole class. Combination prescribing across all patients roughly doubled in the seven months after the podcast aired, compared with the same months in 2024. Among patients with a recent cancer diagnosis, prescribing climbed more than two and a half times higher. No comparable jump appeared in earlier years of the dataset, which stretches back to 2018.
The prescribing surge tracked closely with the audiences most likely to encounter the original content. Increases were concentrated in the U.S. South, where prescribing roughly tripled overall and nearly quadrupled among cancer patients.
White patients saw rates more than two and a half times higher. Men outpaced women, and adults under 65 saw bigger jumps than older patients. Other regions and demographic groups showed little change. The authors describe the pattern as "selective amplification and reach of health misinformation," with prescribing geography mirroring podcast audience geography.
There is no rigorous clinical trial evidence that ivermectin, fenbendazole, or other benzimidazoles treat cancer. The National Cancer Institute has announced plans to study ivermectin in cancer, but no findings yet support clinical use. Patients facing a life-threatening diagnosis may delay or abandon conventional therapy in favor of an unproven regimen.
The study drew on deidentified electronic health record data covering 68.4 million patients across 67 U.S. health care organizations. Investigators identified same-day prescriptions for ivermectin plus any benzimidazole (albendazole, fenbendazole, mebendazole, or thiabendazole) in ambulatory settings from January 2018 through July 2025, then compared monthly rates after the podcast with the same months in 2024. The broader class was tracked because records do not always specify which benzimidazole was ordered.
"Protecting vulnerable populations from misinformation-driven deviations from evidence-based care requires coordinated action by clinicians, health systems, researchers, and policymakers," the authors concluded.
Source: Rockwell MS. JAMA Netw Open. 2026 May 12. Ivermectin-Benzimidazole Prescribing Following Celebrity Endorsement