91st annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research
http://cancertrials.nci.nih.gov (Web Page of the National Cancer Institute)
Due to the belief that shark cartilage has anti-angiogenic properties, and despite the lack of comprehensive controlled studies, shark cartilage supplements are being widely used as alternative anti-cancer agents. The perceived anti-cancer properties of shark cartilage have come into question due to the recent discovery that sharks not only get cancer, they get cancer of the cartilage. Dr. John C. Harshbarger, director of the National Cancer Institute Registry of Tumors in Lower Animals at Johns Hopkins University, reported three malignant tumors--renal cell carcinoma, lymphoma, and a new cartilage tumor--in sharks. Light on this issue will be shed by the results of Phase III clinical trial, which is expected to be opened in the next couple of months. A liquid shark cartilage extract AE-941/Neovastat (developed by Aeterna Laboratories Inc., Quebec, Canada) is being administered in combination with conventional cancer therapies to several hundred patients with non-small-cell lung cancer across Canada and USA. Smaller trials evaluating patients with other types of cancers are also being initiated to speed up the potential approval of the drug.
