Shark Cartilage Extracts as Antiangiogenic Agents: Smart Drinks or Bitter Pills?

• Published in: Cancer and metastasis reviews Vol. 19; no. 1-2; pp. 83 - 86
• Main Authors: Gingras, Denis, Renaud, Alain, Mousseau, Nathalie, Béliveau, Richard
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Springer Nature B.V 2000
• Subjects: Angiogenesis; Angiogenesis Inhibitors - isolation & purification; Angiogenesis Inhibitors - pharmacology; Angiogenesis Inhibitors - therapeutic use; Animals; Antineoplastic agents; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung - blood supply; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung - drug therapy; Carcinoma, Renal Cell - blood supply; Carcinoma, Renal Cell - drug therapy; Cartilage; Cartilage - chemistry; Clinical Trials, Phase III as Topic; Humans; Kidney Neoplasms - blood supply; Kidney Neoplasms - drug therapy; Lung Neoplasms - blood supply; Lung Neoplasms - drug therapy; Neovascularization, Pathologic - prevention & control; Neovascularization, Physiologic - drug effects; Sharks; Tissue Extracts - chemistry; Tissue Extracts - isolation & purification; Tissue Extracts - pharmacology; Tissue Extracts - therapeutic use
• ISSN: 0167-7659; 1573-7233
• DOI: 10.1023/A:1026504500555

The use of crude cartilage for the treatment of human cancers remains a subject of controversy. In this brief commentary, we reviewed the current knowledge on the anticancer properties of cartilage. We then presented the properties of AE-941, a novel standardized water-soluble extract derived from shark cartilage that represents less than 5% of the crude cartilage. It is a multifunctional antiangiogenic product that contains several biologically active molecules. EA-941 is one of the few antiangiogenic drugs that is under phase III clinical investigation. It is currently evaluated in Europe and North America for the treatment of refractory renal cell carcinoma and in North America for metastatic non small cell lung cancer.