Shark Cartilage Not a Reliable Cancer Treatment

HOUSTONShark cartilage extract, AE-941 or Neovastat, failed as a therapeutic agent in combination with chemotherapy and radiation for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer, according to researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. The trial was mandated by Congress and sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI); it tested a shark cartilage extract being developed as a drug by Aeterna Zentaris, a Canadian company. The study examined effects of treatment with shark cartilage on 384 newly-diagnosed, untreated Stage III, non-small cell lung cancer patients at 53 total sites in the United States and Canada from June 2000 to February 2006. Participants received the standard treatment of induction chemotherapy and chemo-radiation, and were randomized to receive either shark cartilage or placebo, both in the form of a liquid. Patients drank 4 oz. of the extract twice daily and continued on the shark cartilage/placebo as maintenance after completing standard therapy. With a median follow-up of 3.7 years, researchers did not find a statistical difference in survival between patients who received the shark cartilage (14.4 months), and those who received the placebo (15.6 months). Shark cartilage therapy, therefore, cannot be relied upon as a useful cancer treatment agent, and researchers cautioned patients of utilizing available shark cartilage products to that end.