蛇毒含有以蛋白质和肽为主的复合物混合，这些成分构成了蛇毒的毒素。蛇毒的毒素成分会攻击人体的多个目标，包括神经肌肉系统、肾脏和血液凝固系统，导致病理变化。因此，蛇毒毒素可以用于治疗这些疾病，并加以管理。在这方面，卡托普利（Captopril）是首个由美国食品药品监督管理局和欧洲药品管理局批准的基于动物毒素的药物，用于心血管疾病的治疗。癌症在全球范围内导致了许多患者和死亡病例。由于目前的癌症治疗包括化疗、放疗、免疫疗法、激素疗法和手术存在副作用，有必要改善当前治疗的效果，或者从包括动物毒素在内的自然来源中开发新药物。早期和正在进行中的研究表明，蛇毒毒素有望成为潜在的抗癌疗法。在本文中，我们回顾了粗制蛇毒和毒素（包括磷脂酶A2、L-氨基酸氧化酶、C型凝集素和解聚素）作为潜在的抗癌药物在癌细胞系和动物肿瘤模型中的作用，并与正常细胞系进行了比较。蛇毒毒素的一些抗肿瘤活性包括诱导细胞毒性、凋亡、细胞周期阻滞以及抑制转移、血管生成和肿瘤生长。因此，我们提议采用多学科的方法来加强蛇毒毒素基于抗癌药物的预临床和临床研究，以提高其生物利用度和靶向传递。© 2023 The Authors. Journal of Applied Toxicology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Snake venom contains a cocktail of compounds dominated by proteins and peptides, which make up the toxin. The toxin components of snake venom attack several targets in the human body including the neuromuscular system, kidney and blood coagulation system and cause pathologies. As such, the venom toxins can be managed and used for the treatment of these diseases. In this regard, Captopril used in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases was the first animal venom toxin-based drug approved by the US Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency. Cancers cause morbidity and mortality worldwide. Due to side effects associated with the current cancer treatments including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy, hormonal therapy and surgery, there is a need to improve the efficacy of current treatments and/or develop novel drugs from natural sources including animal toxin-based drugs. There is a long history of earlier and ongoing studies implicating snake venom toxins as potential anticancer therapies. Here, we review the role of crude snake venoms and toxins including phospholipase A2, L-amino acid oxidase, C-type lectin and disintegrin as potential anticancer agents tested in cancer cell lines and animal tumour models in comparison to normal cell lines. Some of the anti-tumour activities of snake venom toxins include induction of cytotoxicity, apoptosis, cell cycle arrest and inhibition of metastasis, angiogenesis and tumour growth. We thus propose the advancement of multidisciplinary approaches to more pre-clinical and clinical studies for enhanced bioavailability and targeted delivery of snake venom toxin-based anticancer drugs.© 2023 The Authors. Journal of Applied Toxicology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.