The Cold Blooded News The Newsletter of the Colorado Herpetological Society Volume 28, Number 9;   September, 2001

Snake Venom: New Weapon Against Breast Cancer?

Contortrostatin, a protein purified from snake venom, may help stop metastasis of breast tumors. Dr. Francis Markland reported at the American Chemical Society national meeting (August 26).

Markland and his research group at the University of Southern California School of Medicine found that contortrostatin reduced breast tumor metastasis by 60-70%, and lung tumor metastasis by 90%, in mice implanted with human breast cancer cells.

Contortrostatin slows metastasis by interrupting the adhesion and invasion of tumor cells into surrounding healthy cells. Markland reports that "the protein does not kill tumor cells, but puts them in a suspended state of animation." Because the compound is not cytotoxic, it does not cause the same side-effects as cell-killing drugs that also affect normal cells. Markland expects clinical trials to begin in the "not too far distant future."

| Next Article: Experience with Bismarck Ringed Pythons |
| Previous Article: The Veiled Chameleon: An Omnivorous Lizard |
| Return to Cold Blooded News Page | Return to CHS Home Page |