| Shark cartilage has been researched for over 30 years.
Unfortunately, there are not many studies that have been published in
peer-reviewed literature. Additionally, there are only a handful of
studies that have focused on the effect of shark cartilage on human subjects. Three similar clinical studies of powdered shark
cartilage have been presented at scientific conferences, but not yet published
in peer-reviewed, scientific journals. The three studies were
phase II
clinical trials that included patients with breast cancer (n=20), prostate
cancer (n=12) and primary brain cancer (n=12). The patients had been
previously treated with conventional therapies that are standard for the
particular malignancy. The patients were not allowed be involved in any
other therapy other than their daily dosage of shark cartilage. Ten
patients in each study completed the eight week course of shark cartilage
therapy. Two of the breast cancer patients had stable disease at 8 weeks.
Two patients with brain cancer and three patients with prostate cancer had
stable disease that lasted 20+ weeks. Obviously, these studies are not
very significant considering the small number of patients involved.
The safety and efficacy of Neovastat, the aqueous
extract of shark cartilage, has also been investigated in clinical trials.
The results of one retrospective study suggest that Neovastat may be able to
lengthen the survival of patients with non-small cell lung cancer. There
was no significant benefit to the patients with breast, prostate, or lung
cancers.
A prospective analysis involving 22 patients with
refractory renal cell carcinoma showed that patients treated with 240mL/day of
Neovastat survived longer than patients treated with 60mL/day of Neovastat.
Again, the population size of this study is very small.
A study presented at the Second European Breast Cancer
Conference concluded that shark cartilage is ineffective in breast cancer
patients. Dr. Lene Adrian of Copenhagen University Hospital tested shark
cartilage on seventeen women with advanced breast cancer who had not responded
to previously administered traditional therapies. After taking 24 shark
cartilage capsules a day for three months, fifteen of the women had progression
of their breast cancer, and one women developed brain cancer.
In 2005 a study was preformed with the goal to
determine whether shark cartilage improved overall survival for patients with
advanced cancer who were receiving the standard of care. It was a randomized,
double-blind, placebo-controlled, clinical trial that's subjects were patients
with incurable breast or colorectal cancer. These patients were given the
standard of care for their particular illness and than were randomly selected to
receive either shark cartilage or placebo that was to be taken 3-4 times daily.
The results showed that there was no difference in overall survival or quality
of life between the patients taking the shark cartilage and those taking
placebo.
The FDA has approved several Phase III clinical trials.
One trial will be comparing patients with advanced cancer taking oral Neovastat
plus chemotherapy and radiation therapy to patients taking a placebo plus the
same chemotherapy and radiation therapy. In another trial, treatment with
Neovastat is being compared to treatment with placebo in patients with
metastatic renal cell carcinoma. |
