Snake Venom Disintegrins: Natural Products with Antitumor Effect

Cancer is a leading cause of disease globally. Treatment methods combine radiation therapy, surgery, novel drug chemotherapy and recently, nano drugs. During the past few years, the venoms of various vipers that selectively block the function of integrin receptors have been employed as potential drugs to fight cancer by inhibiting tumor progression. Special attention has been paid to disintegrins which represent an important constituent of viper venoms. Recent developments in evaluating disintegrin applications in therapies are discussed as well as the potential of using disintegrins in the future as antitumor agents.