{"entity":{"id":"scorpion-venom-escozul","kind":"technology","name":"Blue scorpion venom (Escozul, Vidatox)","aka":["Escozul","Escozine","Vidatox"],"tldr":"Venom from the Cuban blue scorpion is sold as Escozul and a homeopathic version, Vidatox, with claims that it treats cancer. The manufacturer's research has never been published in a peer-reviewed journal, Cuba rejected Escozul in 2009 for lack of clinical data, and a man with lung cancer died after using a scorpion venom extract. A purified venom peptide is a separate product in proper trials.","summary":"Scorpions are used in folk and traditional Chinese medicine, and some venom components kill malaria parasites, microbes and cancer cells in the laboratory. Memorial Sloan Kettering's About Herbs summary explains that products made from Rhopalurus junceus, the Cuban blue scorpion, sold as Escozine and Escozul, rest on anecdotes, testimonials and animal experiments; the manufacturer's research cannot be corroborated and has not been published in a peer-reviewed journal, and in 2009 the Cuban government formally rejected Escozul because of insufficient clinical data. A homeopathic version, Vidatox, has not been evaluated in peer-reviewed journals either. MSK notes that the venoms marketed to patients are untested and unregulated and records a fatality in an 86-year-old man with lung cancer who used scorpion venom extract as cancer therapy. The scientifically promising line is different: chlorotoxin, a scorpion-derived peptide that can be synthesised, is in clinical trials as a carrier for drugs and radiation to gliomas and as a fluorescent tumour paint to guide surgery.","status":"negative","asOf":"2026-11-04","links":[{"label":"MSK About Herbs: Scorpion venom (page last updated 2 June 2023)","url":"https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/integrative-medicine/herbs/scorpion-venom"}],"tags":["complementary","supportive-care","evidence:harm"],"related":["sea-cucumber-extract","oleandrin-anvirzel"],"cancers":[],"sections":["supportive-care"],"technologies":["alternative-medicine-instead-of-treatment","homeopathy-cancer"],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":[],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":["unproven-diet-claims"],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":["b-misinformation"],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"principle":"Venoms contain ion-channel toxins; chlorotoxin binds glioma cells selectively, which is why it is being developed as a targeting agent, not as a drink or remedy.","strengths":["A purified peptide, chlorotoxin, is under proper clinical development"],"limitations":["Marketed products unpublished and unregulated","Rejected by the Cuban government in 2009","A death reported after use as cancer therapy"]},"route":"/technologies/scorpion-venom-escozul/","neighbours":{"technology":[{"id":"alternative-medicine-instead-of-treatment","kind":"technology","name":"Alternative medicine used instead of standard treatment","route":"/technologies/alternative-medicine-instead-of-treatment/"},{"id":"homeopathy-cancer","kind":"technology","name":"Homeopathy","route":"/technologies/homeopathy-cancer/"},{"id":"oleandrin-anvirzel","kind":"technology","name":"Oleander extracts (oleandrin, Anvirzel, PBI-05204)","route":"/technologies/oleandrin-anvirzel/"},{"id":"sea-cucumber-extract","kind":"technology","name":"Sea cucumber extract","route":"/technologies/sea-cucumber-extract/"}],"section":[{"id":"supportive-care","kind":"section","name":"Supportive Care & Survivorship","route":"/fronts/supportive-care/"}],"term":[{"id":"unproven-diet-claims","kind":"term","name":"Unproven diet claims (alkaline, juice, 'anti-cancer' diets)","route":"/terms/unproven-diet-claims/"}],"bottleneck":[{"id":"b-misinformation","kind":"bottleneck","name":"Misinformation and unproven therapies","route":"/bottlenecks/b-misinformation/"}]}}