Australian cane toad venom can cure prostate cancer

Australian researchers have found that cane toad venom kills off prostate cancer cells while sparing healthy cells.

Staff and students of University of Queensland's Pharmacy Australia Center of Excellence have discovered Australia's toad to be similar to the Asiatic toad which has been used in Chinese medicine for thousands of years.

"We have what we believe is a selectively toxic agent which can kill tumour cells but spare healthy cells," Dr Harendra Parekh, who leads the project, told the Australia Broadcast Commission ( ABC).

In China, medicine made from toad venom is called chan su and is used to treat heart failure, sore throats, skin conditions and other illnesses.

PhD student Dr Jing Jing used her Chinese medical knowledge to show that the venom from cane toads was very effective at killing cancer cells, and in particular prostate cancer cells, Parekh said.

Although it has been used for a long time in Asia, it can be dangerous in its raw form, and Parekh and his team had been trying to make the drug more soluble.

"Once we determine that the toxicity has been sustained, even after increasing solubility, the next stage will involve packaging it in innovative drug delivery systems, sent to cancer tissue," Parekh said.

The Queensland university team has received a grant from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and a Chinese research institute to continue the studies.