A clinical trial to rigorously evaluate shark cartilage as a cancer therapy found no benefits for patients. Lung cancer patients who took AE-941 (Neovastat) along with chemotherapy and radiation lived no longer than patients who did not (about 15 months), researchers reported at the ASCO annual meeting. The final-stage clinical trial included 384 patients. 

Physicians know that many cancer patients consume natural products that have not been scientifically tested and that may interact with conventional treatments. The cartilage study was designed to see whether a natural product developed as a pharmaceutical and put through standard clinical testing might benefit cancer patients. Unlike the products sold in stores and over the Internet, AE-941 was available only through the trial.

Early testing suggested that the drug may block the growth of blood vessels that feed tumors, but in the end the results were negative. "AE-941 is not an effective therapeutic agent for lung cancer," said lead investigator Dr. Charles Lu of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.