Does shark cartillage really work?

[MillionaireNextDoor]

your view and your reason/proof? i'm very curious

 

[rlism]

what's it supposed to do?

 

[MillionaireNextDoor]

they say it's a cancer treatment

 

[jimmyle]

one thing is for sure; shark cartillage currently does NOT cure cancer and yet many desparate people still take shark cartillage pills; it may or may not help at all at easing the suffering but its benefits are only temporary. hundreds of thousands of sharks are killed each year for their cartillage, reducing shark numbers in the oceans. it's just like killing sharks just to get their fins. it only shows how we as humans are sacrificing huge future benefits just to get temporary and small but immediate benefits.

 

[bacillus]

any specific reason why you're asking? :frown:

 

[MillionaireNextDoor]

reason is mostly because i'm curious and all

 

[jonnyGURU]

It seems to work for sharks.

 

[kami]

Yeah, it's a gimmick. Gimmick as in it won't cure your cancer...there may be some isolated cases of it working, but that was most likely just a coincidence. No point in butchering so many sharks and f*cking up the ocean's eco-system. It's already messed up enough as it is...

 

[huanaku]

I haven't heard of shark cartilage working. I know there is a sponge that has had some chemical isolated that is being tested as a cancer treatment ...

 

[Viper GTS]

I dunno about cancer treatments, but it works great for joint pain. Glucosamine/chondroitin supplements can make a world of difference.

Don't bother wasting your money on shark cartilage, though, plain old cow cartilage is a lot cheaper. It's a lot easier to convince a cow to give up it's cartilage than a shark.



Viper GTS

 

[Hamburgerpimp]

No, Shark Cartilage does not work in many many tests. Healthy lifestyle will prevent cancer more than anything else. One thing alone will not cure or prevent cancer. The "War on Cancer" was started by Pres. Nixon 30 years ago. And absolutely nothing has come out of it! (Well, there's other reasons for not finding a cure for cancer, also. They will never, you know why? Funding each year for cures on cancer are in the Billions. See the picture?)

 

[WolverineGator]

First, here is the issue.

Three principal mechanisms of action have been proposed to explain the antitumor potential of cartilage: 1) it kills cancer cells directly; 2) it stimulates the immune system; 3) it blocks the formation of new blood vessels (angiogenesis), which tumors need for unrestricted growth.

Second, a quick review of the literature...

Title: Phase I/II trial of the safety and efficacy of shark cartilage in the treatment of advanced cancer.
AU: Miller-DR; Anderson-GT; Stark-JJ; Granick-JL; Richardson-D
SO: J-Clin-Oncol. 1998 Nov; 16(11): 3649-55.

CONCLUSION: Under the specific conditions of this study, SC [shark cartilage] as a single agent was inactive in patients with advanced-stage cancer and had no salutary effect on quality of life.


Title: Shark cartilage extract interferes with cell adhesion and induces reorganization of focal adhesions in cultured endothelial cells.
AU: Chen-JS; Chang-CM; Wu-JC; Wang-SM
SO: J-Cell-Biochem. 2000 Jun 6; 78(3): 417-28.

CONCLUSION: Shark cartilage chondroitin sulfate had no inhibitory effect on either cell attachment or spreading of endothelial cells.

I don't want to bore readers, but I found dozens of other journal articles with similar results. OTOH, some studies have found positive results. From Morris, Coderre, Micca, et al: "It was concluded that shark cartilage, when given alone, significantly increased the survival time of tumour-bearing rats, presumably owing to an anti-angiogenic effect."

Third, as of 1/1/2001, only three human studies have been published to date, and the results are inconclusive about the effectiveness of cartilage as a treatment for cancer.

Finally, research is in its infancy, so it is premature to make conclusions about shark cartilage. Given current evidence, to answer your question, there currently is no conclusive proof of the efficacy of shark cartilage. Eventually, studies with sufficient statistical power will render a verdict. However, if you believe in it, then the palliative effects may be worth a try.


Rajeeb.
Epidemiologist and Data Manager
MSPH, BS