cobra-cardiotoxin-proteins and Skin-Neoplasms

The authors report their clinical experience with VRCTC-310 in two patients suffering with advanced cancer in which the skin was severely compromised. VRCTC-310 is a combination of the snake venoms crotoxin (CT) and cardiotoxin (CD). The local (peritumoral) treatment with the drug (0.O14 mg/kg/week during 6 weeks) provoked the complete disappearance of a relapsed skin squamous cell cancer in one patient. The other patient was an aged woman with local-advanced breast cancer (carcinoma en cuirasse) who was inoculated intra-and-peritumoral with VRCTC-310. After 6 weekly courses (0.014 mg/kg/week) with the drug a > 80% tumor reduction was seen. A 133 days follow-up demonstrated not only an objective complete response of the primary tumor mass, but the disappearance of supraclavicular tumor mass as well a significant reduction in lymphangitis. To our knowledge, this is the first communication about the in vivo antitumoral activity of VRCTC-310 when injected locally to humans. Further studies are now in progress.

Topics: Aged; Antineoplastic Agents; Breast Neoplasms; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell; Cobra Cardiotoxin Proteins; Crotoxin; Drug Combinations; Female; Humans; Male; Skin Neoplasms