- Chapter
- First Online:
Cancer
is a life debilitating fatal disease that affects millions of lives
annually across the world. The current cancer treatments include
invasive surgical procedures or the use of non-selective cytotoxic drugs
to inhibit tumour growth and metastasis. Snake venom proteins exhibit
highly selective cytotoxicity to tumour cells, thus are excellent
candidates for anti-cancer therapeutics. In this chapter, we discuss
snake venom proteins that have been discovered to have anti-cancer
properties alongside the biodiversity of venom and medically important
snakes from Elapidae and Viperidae families. Snake venoms three-finger
toxins, lectins, metalloproteinases, serine proteinases, disintegrins, l-amino acid oxidases and phospholipases A2
are venom proteins described prominently for anti-cancer properties. In
addition, mechanistic actions of anti-cancer activities such as
apoptosis, anti-angiogenesis and necroptosis have also been elaborated.
In addition, drug delivery formulations for these proteins are also
discussed, including the uses of liposomes, gold nanoparticles,
mesoporous silica nanoparticles and recombinant adenovirus. Lastly, we
discuss commercially available anti-cancer drugs, such as Captopril and
Enalapril, along with other clinically developed drugs. Overall, we aim
to provide a chapter that enhances understanding of the therapeutic
application of snake venom proteins for anti-cancer.
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