Several years ago there was a lot of interest in shark cartilage as a cancer prevention approach. The pitch centered on the idea that sharks don’t get cancer. Now a study has tested a special prescription-strength shark cartilage compound against human cancer. In the trial, patients got either shark cartilage or placebo for their non-small-cell lung cancer. About 80 percent of all lung cancers fall into this category. Unfortunately, there was no difference in survival between those on shark cartilage and those on placebo. The authors suggest that this study offers oncologists a convincing answer to the question of whether shark cartilage would be beneficial. The authors conclude it is not.
[Journal of the National Cancer Institute, online May 26, 2010]
The People's Perspective on Medicine