Document and Entity Information Cactus Ventures, Inc. (USD $)	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2011	Nov. 04, 2011	Sep. 30, 2010
Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Registrant Name	Cactus Ventures, Inc.
Entity Central Index Key	0001388320
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Smaller Reporting Company
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2011
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2011
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		11,155,008
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Public Float			$ 0

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