Cancer: Bovine and Shark Cartilage, Part 2

by National Cancer Institute

(Page 2 of 2)

A large number of laboratory and animal studies on the effect of cartilage on angiogenesis have been published.

The following has been reported from these studies:

• Three substances that prevent blood vessel growth were found in bovine cartilage.

• Two substances that prevent blood vessel growth were found in shark cartilage.

• Powdered shark cartilage given by mouth to mice and rats prevented blood vessels from forming.

6. Have any clinical trials (research studies with people) been conducted using cartilage?

Since the 1970s, there have been more than a dozen clinical studies of cartilage as a treatment for cancer. Results from 4 studies have been published in scientific journals.

The following has been reported in published studies:

A randomized clinical trial comparing treatment using shark cartilage to treatment using a placebo (an inactive substance that looks the same as, and is given the same way as, the substance being tested):

There was no difference in the quality of life or survival rate between the two groups.

Case series (a collection of detailed information about individual patients) of 31 patients who were treated with Catrix:

The cancer went into remission (signs and symptoms of cancer went away) in 19 patients and then recurred (came back) in about half of them. Some of these patients also received standard cancer treatment and there was no control group (a group of patients who do not receive the treatment being studied, to show if the treatment being studied makes a difference). For these reasons, the effectiveness of cartilage as a cancer treatment is not proven by this case series.

A clinical trial of Catrix in 9 patients whose cancers did not respond to radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy:

One patient's cancer went into remission for more than 39 weeks and the other 8 patients did not respond to treatment with Catrix.

A clinical trial of Cartilade in 60 patients with advanced cancer:

All but 1 patient had been treated with standard therapy before the trial. The cancer stopped growing in 10 of the patients for 12 weeks or more and then began to grow again. The cancer did not shrink or go into remission in any of the patients.

Companies that make cartilage products may not have a process in place to check that all batches they make are exactly the same. This means different batches of a cartilage product may contain different amounts or strengths of ingredients. Different binding agents (substances that make loose mixtures stick together) and fillers may be used in different batches. Therefore, the results of a particular clinical trial may be true only for the batch that was used in the study.

Information is available on research studies that use complementary and alternative medicine.

7. Have any side effects or risks been reported from cartilage?

The side effects of cartilage treatment are usually mild or moderate.

The most common side effects of treatment with the bovine cartilage product Catrix include the following:

• Inflammation at the injection location.
• A bad taste in the mouth.
• Feeling very tired.
• Nausea.
• Upset stomach.
• Fever.
• Feeling dizzy.
• Swelling of the scrotum (the sac that contains the testicles).

The most common side effects of treatment with the shark cartilage include the following:

• Nausea.
• Vomiting.
• Abdominal cramps and/or bloating.
• Constipation.
• Lower than normal blood pressure.
• Higher than normal blood sugar.
• General weakness.
• A higher than normal level of calcium in the blood.

Nausea, vomiting, and upset stomach are the side effects reported most often from treatment with the shark cartilage product AE-941/Neovastat.

There has been one report of hepatitis occurring in a person who used shark cartilage.

8. Is cartilage approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use as a cancer treatment in the United States?

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved cartilage as a treatment for cancer. A number of cartilage products are sold in the United States as dietary supplements. In the United States, dietary supplements are regulated as foods, not drugs. A company does not need FDA approval to sell a dietary supplement unless it claims the product can treat or prevent disease.

About the Author

www.nci.nih.gov
The National Cancer Institute's research programs are extensive and contain many innovative initiatives. I invite you to explore our Web site to find out more about the exciting work being conducted here at NCI and by NCI-supported scientists throughout the country.