Some doctors say the hype is outpacing the science, and many worry about the impact it could have on cancer patients. Dr. Nitin Verma, an oncologist at Kaiser Permanente, said there's no scientific evidence showing that ivermectin is safe or effective for treating cancer. “For me, I feel the biggest downside of this is delay in getting the effective cancer treatments,” Verma said. The National Cancer Institute plans to study ivermectin for the treatment of cancer, but that too is in the early stages. Both the FDA and the American Cancer Society do not recommend ivermectin for treating cancer.