Scorpion Venom: New Promise in the Treatment of Cancer

Cancer is a public health problem due to its high worldwide morbimortality. Current treatment protocols do not guarantee complete remission, which has prompted to search for new and more effective antitumoral compounds. Several substances exhibiting cytostatic and cytotoxic effects over cancer cells might contribute to the treatment of this pathology. Some studies indicate the presence of such substances in scorpion venom. In this review, we report characteristics of the principal scorpion venom components found in recent literature and their potential activity against tumor cells.  There are different toxin groups present in the venom, and it seems that their mode of actions involves ionic channel blocking, disruption of the cell membrane integrity and damage to internal cell organelles.  These properties make good prospects for studies on drugs and adjuvants in cancer treatment.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Gómez Rave, Lyz Jenny, Muñoz Bravo, Adriana Ximena, Sierra Castrillo, Jhoalmis, Román Marín, Laura Melisa, Corredor Pereira, Carlos
Format: Digital revista
Language:eng
Published: Universidad Nacional de Colombia - Sede Bogotá - Facultad de Ciencias - Departamento de Biología 2019
Online Access:https://revistas.unal.edu.co/index.php/actabiol/article/view/71512
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