Translating Venom to Medicine: A Comprehensive Review on the Role of Chlorotoxin in Glioblastoma Diagnosis and Therapy

Abstract

Glioblastoma, the most aggressive primary brain tumor, carries fluorescence-guided surgery and multimodal imaging to en-a dismal prognosis, with median survival remaining under hance intraoperative accuracy. On the therapeutic front, CTX 15 months despite standard therapies. This is largely because of enables targeted delivery of siRNA, radioisotopes, and novel the tumor’s infiltrative nature, the restrictive blood–brain barrier, immunotherapies such as CTX-directed chimeric antigen re- and intratumoral heterogeneity. Chlorotoxin (CTX), a 36-amino acid ceptor T cells. We also examine emerging clinical data sup-peptide derived from scorpion venom, has emerged as a promising porting the safety and preliminary efficacy of CTX-based multifunctional agent with high specificity for neuroectodermal tu- interventions. Collectively, CTX represents a paradigm shift in mors. In this comprehensive review, we highlight CTX’s potential to neuro-oncology, offering a single molecule with both diagaddress critical limitations of current glioma treatments by bridging nostic and therapeutic capabilities. Its utility may also extend diagnostic and therapeutic modalities. Diagnostic advancements in- beyond gliomas to metastases and other malignancies within clude CTX-conjugated near-IF fluorophores and nanoparticles for and beyond the central nervous system.