Toxic Toad Venom to Cure Deadly Cancer?

HOUSTON - Researchers from the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center are teaming up with researchers at Fudan University Cancer Hospital in China to study "Huachansu." That's dried venom, secreted by the skin glands of toads from Asia.

Dr. Lorenzo Cohen from M.D. Anderson says the F.D.A. in China has already approved it to treat pancreatic, liver, lung, and colon cancer. It's never been "formally" studied, so it has not been approved here in the U.S.

Researchers in the Texas Medical Center asked them to "go back to the drawing board" in China to formally study its cause and effects. The human trials of an i.v. form of the drug are taking place in China.

Dr. Lorenzo says it happens under the same same quality control and standards that would take place in a clinical trial at M.D. Anderson in Houston.

So far, results are promising.

"We didn't see any side effects, even doses that are eight times the standard dose for this drug in China,"Dr. Lorenzo says. "There was one one patient taking a low dose and had 20 percent regression of their tumor. This was quite encouraging, considering the only drug that they were receiving was the i.v. injection of Huachansu."

Studies of the toad venom are only in Phase 1 trials. That means the initial findings are viewed cautiously, but it's still promising.

"We're quite hopeful further research with this product and working with the (pharmaceutical) company - to perhaps develop a more potent oral formulation, may hold a lot of promise for cancer treatment in the future!" Dr. Cohen says.

Dr. Cohen says he hopes an oral form of the treatment will be ready in two years to begin human trials of that form of it. If it is deemed safe and effective, he says it usually takes ten years to bring a drug to the market.

For more information on all types of cancer treatments, you can go to: mdanderson.org or watch Fox 26's Melissa Wilson's story about toad venom extract.