Shark Cartilage and Cancer
Clinical trials over the past two decades have failed to show that shark cartilage products benefit patients. The latest study, from M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Texas, found that shark cartilage failed to improve survival of patients with stage-3, non-small-cell lung cancer. They were also being treated with chemotherapy and radiation.) Researchers randomly assigned 384 patients at 53 sites in the United States and in Canada to take four ounces of shark cartilage extract or a placebo twice daily. Those on the shark cartilage survived about 14.4 months compared to 15.6 months for those on placebo, a difference that wasn't statistically significant. In this study, the shark cartilage used was Neovastat, a product developed as a prescription pharmaceutical and never sold over-the-counter, unlike other forms of shark cartilage previously studied.
Findings from a study published in the July 1, 2005, issue of the journal Cancer showed that adding powdered shark cartilage to standard cancer therapy didn't help patients with advanced breast or colorectal cancer. Half of the 88 participants mixed shark cartilage powder with juice or water while the other half used a placebo that looked and smelled like shark cartilage powder. But the patients couldn't tolerate either preparation: after a month, half the patients in both groups had given up the drinks.
Shark cartilage has been used by many for the treatment of a variety of illnesses including cancer. But a new study suggests that shark cartilage does not benefit people with cancer and actually may make some patients feel worse.
In a study of patients with advanced breast or colorectal cancer, Mayo Clinic researchers found no improvement in overall survival rates or quality of life in those taking shark cartilage compared with those who took a placebo.
'Sharks Rarely Get Cancer'
The researchers chose to study shark cartilage as a cancer treatment because of its popularity as an alternative therapy. "The basis for this popularity is the claim that sharks rarely get cancer because of the high proportion of cartilage in the shark's body," they write.
In the study, Loprinzi and colleagues monitored 83 people with incurable advanced breast or colon cancer. They primarily looked at differences in survival time between patients in two groups: one group that received shark cartilage and another group that received an identical- appearing placebo product.
Shark Cartilage and Cancer
According to I. William Lane, author of "Sharks Don't Get Cancer" and a leading proponent of shark cartilage as an effective cancer treatment, ingestion of shark cartilage inhibits angiogenesis. In lay terms, what this means is that cartilage apparently reduces the creation of a network of blood vessels around a tumor, and therefore prevents it from growing or spreading.
Before anyone with mesothelioma takes shark cartilage he/she should discuss this matter with his/her treating physician. There are a number of reasons to do this, including the need to ensure that he/she obtains only clinical-grade cartilage and the possibility of side effects.
