All About Shark Cartilage
By: Luke Proskine
Introduction to Information off the Web
Sharks have existed on this earth for over 400 million years,
and for the most part have been one of the only species in earth’s history
that has not been changed dramatically as a result of evolution (http://www.nutritionwarehouse.com/Shark.Cartilage.html).
Furthermore, in recent times since the onslaught of the industrial revolution,
numerous pollutants and toxins have been introduced into the earth’s oceans,
forests, and atmosphere resulting in cancerous development in nearly all
forms of life. Incredibly, however, the amazing living machine known as
the shark has survived literally unchanged and has rarely developed cancer
despite the fact that almost all other creatures of land and sea get cancer
regularly (http://www.realife.com/cancer.html
- http://www.realife.com/cancer.html
). These prehistoric sea creatures have skeletons,
unlike other animals, largely made up of cartilage, which is a tough yet
malleable connective tissue. The fact that sharks do not regularly get
cancer, that they have survived the test of time, and that they are composed
mostly of cartilage has raised quite a bit of interest among scientists
within the past twenty years (http://www.realife.com/cancer.html
- http://www.realife.com/cancer.html
). Based upon this research (however, mostly unofficial)
shark cartilage is now very popular on the web as a safe and effective
treatment for osteo and rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, and numerous other
diseases (http://www.freeyellow.com/members/totalnatural/doforme.html
- http://www.freeyellow.com/members/total). The above information was
obtained off of the world wide web, however, in this website we will also
discuss the "real" information that has been obtained from reliable medical
journals.
Early Findings and Subsequent Claims
One company selling shark cartilage claimed that after years
of research by several doctors, finally in 1983, at the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology, it was proven that shark cartilage contains a protein that
inhibits the formation of blood vessels to tumors. (http://www.realife.com/whtisshk.htmlhttp://www.realife.com/whtisshk.html
- http://www.realife.com/whtissk.html). Hence, they said
if a tumor cannot create a blood vessel network it will become malnourished
and eventually die. Shortly proceeding this discovery, a great amount of
hype was established saying that shark cartilage was the cure-all for everything.
Numerous additional companies now have shark cartilage products on the
market saying that shark cartilage is "the most powerful anti-inflammatory
agent and wound healing substance in the world," or that this cartilage
"cures cancer effectively." Most of these claims have little merit, however,
the fact remains that if used properly, shark cartilage can or could prevent
the development of tumor-based cancer and metastasis (http://www.realife.com/whtisshk.htmlhttp://www.realife.com/whtisshk.html
- http://www.realife.com/whtissk.html).
After surfing the web and visiting countless websites,
my research (solely off the web) has become clear that shark cartilage
can be very helpful in the treatment of many chronic and life-threatening
diseases and disorders. Through research by scientists, these companies
say that it has been proven that cancer, osteo and rheumatoid arthritis,
psoriasis, lupus, and other diseases have responded significantly to the
application of shark cartilage (http://aran.digiweb.com/prod01.htm
- http://aran.digiweb.com/prod01.htm). A claim made by
the Aran company stated that cartilage is an elastic tissue, which composes
the skeletons of most embryonic and young vertebrates, and sharks. Amazingly,
cartilage is a tissue that performs its functions without nerves, blood
vessels, or a lymphatic system and nutrients are, therefore, not transported
to cartilage via the blood or lymphatic fluid (http://www.realife.com/whtisshk.htmlhttp://www.realife.com/whtisshk.html
- http://www.realife.com/whtissk.html). It is this characteristic
in particular which holds a promise for battling cancer and other diseases
that cause the formation of malignant tumors (http://www.realife.com/whtisshk.htmlhttp://www.realife.com/whtisshk.html
- http://www.realife.com/whtissk.html). Thus, shark cartilage,
which significantly slows the development of blood vessels that nourish
tumors, has the ability to limit tumor growth. Therefore the rationale
of treatment with shark cartilage is to inhibit angiogenesis or the development
of new blood networks (http://www.realife.com/whtisshk.htmlhttp://www.realife.com/whtisshk.html
- http://www.realife.com/whtissk.html). Scientists believe
and companies claim that because of the ability of shark cartilage to slow
angiogenesis, it can yield positive results in the treatment of cancer
and other diseases.
Treatment and Studies
Shark cartilage is offered by most companies in powdered
or liquid form and can be taken either orally or rectally. When taken regularly
this treatment supposedly inhibits angiogenesis and stimulates the immune
system, which then works synergistically with the protein in fighting disease
(http://www.realife.com/whtisshk.htmlhttp://www.realife.com/whtisshk.html
- http://www.realife.com/whtissk.html). The stopping
of tumor growth caused by the use of shark cartilage has proven very beneficial
to many people suffering from cancer. One study conducted to prove the
effectiveness of shark cartilage was administered in Mexico with eight
non-paying, terminal cancer patients. These patients were left for dead
after all conventional therapies had failed, so this group of doctors treated
them with regular doses of shark cartilage. Six different types of tumors
were presented and in seven of the eight patients, five were tumor free,
two had an eighty percent tumor reduction, and only one had died (http://www.realife.com/cancer.html
- http://www.realife.com/cancer.html). After one oncologist
witnessed similar results, he said, "In my history as an oncologist, I
have never seen or experienced anything like this response with shark cartilage."
These results have been so positive that even the popular television show
60 minutes aired a program about the effectiveness of shark cartilage on
treating cancer. On the World Wide Web success stories of everyday people
can also be found telling of the amazing results that a regular dosage
has had on helping their cancer (http://www.realife.com/experin.html
- http://www.realife.com/experin.html). Despite all of
these profound success stories nothing is official yet and the benefits
of shark cartilage in cancer prevention have not been determined specifically.
Because of some of these questionable claims of effectiveness, one must
wonder about the validity each website has to offer.
Possible Bias
The research I obtained came mostly from companies who wished
to sell the shark cartilage on line and some information came from a program
called real life which supplies the public with information. Both of these
types of websites stressed the safety of shark cartilage and made a point
that the treatment was completely non-toxic. The companies who desired
to sell the product made shark cartilage out to be the best thing in the
world and the cure for everything. The program which was for the knowledge
of the public did not portray shark cartilage to be as positive, yet, it
still expressed the monumental scientific breakthrough caused from the
discovery and it also talked of the great possibility of shark cartilage
as a major cure for cancer. On the other hand, I obtained a website written
by environmentalists (http://members.aol.com/lunkker/sharkattk.htm
- http://members.aol.com/lunkker/sharkatt), which portrayed
shark cartilage as something terrible and destructive. These people clearly
feared that a boom of some sort in this industry could decimate the shark
population. The validity of this website, I believe is substantially less
than that of the other two types because of the radical views it had and
the lack of evidence displayed supporting all of their points. Information
about such a topic has a tendency to be twisted around according to what
the people want one to believe. All of the websites lacked significant
concrete evidence that went in depth about the efficacy of shark cartilage
and cannot be taken very seriously.
Significant information has proven shark cartilage to
be quite instrumental in the inhibition of angiogenesis and the subsequent
destruction of cancerous tumors. This treatment is quite safe; however,
its effectiveness with humans has not been officially determined. All of
the information obtained on the web cannot be relied on as well largely
due to bias and wants of the author.
Reliable Medical Research on the Effectiveness of
Shark Cartilage
The difference between the two pictures on this website
sums up my findings of research on the web and research of medical journals
that contain real experiments testing the validity of shark cartilage as
a treatment for malignant disease. The first picture is blown way out of
proportion, is a cartoon and thus not real, and exaggerates all of the
features in the picture. The second picture is an actual photo of a living
blue shark swimming in real life through the ocean and unlike the other
picture it is very real. In other words, the vast majority of the information
placed on the web about shark cartilage is false, exaggerated, and hence
not real. The basic question presented here is does the use of shark cartilage
have any scientific basis in the treatment of cancer. Sharks have caused
great interest among scientists concerning this topic because they have
inhabited the ocean for millions of years and are rarely affected by cancer
and other disease. Thus, scientists have proposed that the shark's skeleton
of cartilage contains a substance that inhibits angiogenesis (the development
of new blood net works) and may have a role in the shark's immunity to
cancer (Hunt). The growth of solid tumors relies on new vessel growth and
angiogenesis is required to deprive the host of nutrition and oxygen. If
angiogenesis were inhibited by shark cartilage, degeneration of solid tumor
cells would be the end result (Iwaguchi). Such ideas and findings have
led to the idea that cartilage could be used for the treatment of tumors
in humans, however, conclusive studies are lacking (Hunt).
Animal Experiments
Numerous studies using animals have been conducted to answer
this question and some have raised positive results. In 1983 a study was
conducted using white rabbits to see if shark cartilage contained inhibitors
of tumor angiogenesis. Scientists took large quantities of basking shark
(Cetorhinus maximus) cartilage and through a variety of chemical processes,
such as ultrafiltration and lyophilization, they extracted the inhibitor
(Langer). The scientists then made incisions in the corneas of these rabbits
and placed cancerous tumor grafts inside the incisions (Iwaguchi). Some
of the rabbits had implanted pellets of shark cartilage extract next to
the tumor grafts, while others had identically sized fake pellets placed
in the cornea next to the grafts as a control group (Langer). After 19
days of intense observation, the extract of basking shark cartilage had
proven to significantly inhibit tumor growth. All of the control corneas
had large, three-dimensional tumors with an average maximum length of 6mm
(half the diameter of the cornea), while the treated corneas did not have
three-dimensional tumors (Langer). All treated tumors showed little growth
with an average maximum length of 1.5 mm, 75% less than the controls (Langer).
Such results certainly demonstrate that basking shark-cartilage extract
strongly inhibits tumor-induced growth. This data, however, remains incomplete
and unimpressive to the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and has not received
sponsorship from their organization.
Human Studies and Results
In addition to animal research, shark cartilage has also
been studied in human subjects. In 1993 an entire "60 minutes" broadcast
was dedicated to this topic. This show discussed a 16- week trial that
was conducted in Cuba to evaluate the efficacy of shark cartilage for cancer
treatment (Matthews). Out of twenty-nine patients, three showed response
to treatment. The results were claimed to be incredible, however, as mentioned
earlier, the NCI did not sponsor further studies based on the inconsistent
data. Another study was taken the same year in Lawrenceville, NJ and out
of 20 patients using shark cartilage, 10 claimed to have an improved quality
of life, including deceased pain and increased appetite after eight weeks
(Hunt). Scientists believe, however, that when one gets a dramatic disease
such as cancer he or she is searching for anything to help them get better.
Shark cartilage fills this emotional void extremely well and thus, can
be attributed to some of the success (Markman). These patients that "feel
better, gain strength, and experience less fatigue" after taking shark
cartilage, just as prayer, meditation, and group therapy may provide important
emotional support for some persons dealing with an extremely difficult
disease (Markman). In addition, it is extremely unlikely that oral ingestion
of this material could have any clinically meaningful effect on the natural
history of established cancer because very little is absorbed (Markman).
Even if it is absorbed, it will enter the liver, where further breakdown
of any active ingredient will take place. Thus, what remains of the pill
must somehow reach the tumor, be taken up by the cancer cells, and subsequently
either inactivate or kill the malignant cells (Markman).
In conclusion, shark cartilage appears to provide many
patients with hope and emotional support, but does nothing to the cancer.
All of the sensational claims made on the web are definitely not true because
of their lack of scientific evidence. Shark cartilage may be used for cancer
treatment effectively in the future, however, right now no scientific facts
can support the claims of shark cartilage's ability to treat cancer.
References
Hunt, Traci. "Shark cartilage for cancer treatment." American
Journal of Health System Pharmacology. Aug 15 1995; 52: 1756, 60.
Iwaguchi, T. "A novel angiogenic inhibitor." Cancer
Letters. Jun 15 1990; 51:181-6.
Langer, Robert. "Shark cartilage contains inhibitors of
tumor angiogenesis." Science. 1983; 221:1185-87.
Markman, Maurie. "Shark cartilage." Cleveland Clinic
Journal of Medicine. June 1996; 63:179-180
Matthews, James. "Media feeds frenzy over shark cartilage
as cancer treatment." Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Aug 4 1993; 85:1190-91.
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