# Shark cartilage (AE-941, Neovastat)

Source: https://onco.cc/technologies/shark-cartilage/  
OnCo record `shark-cartilage` (Technology). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

The idea that sharks do not get cancer (they do) launched a supplement industry. Two randomised trials, including a large phase 3 in lung cancer, found that shark cartilage extract does nothing for survival, and the trade contributed to shark population declines.

## Summary

Shark cartilage was promoted in the 1990s as an angiogenesis inhibitor after a mass-market book claimed sharks were immune to cancer. A randomised placebo-controlled trial of powdered shark cartilage in 83 patients with advanced breast or colorectal cancer (Loprinzi et al., 2005) found no effect on survival or quality of life, and the phase 3 trial of the standardised liquid extract AE-941 (Neovastat) in 379 patients with stage III non-small-cell lung cancer receiving chemoradiotherapy (Lu et al., JNCI 2010) found no difference in overall survival (14.4 versus 15.6 months). The NCI PDQ summary rates the evidence as showing no benefit. Products are unpleasant to take, have caused hepatitis in case reports, and the harvest has affected shark populations.

## Fields

- Kind: Technology
- Status: negative
- Last checked: 2026-09-10
- Tags: complementary; supportive-care; evidence:no-benefit
- Principle: Cartilage contains proteins that inhibit angiogenesis in vitro; oral extracts are digested and do not deliver them to tumours.
- Strengths: Adequately powered trials give a clear answer
- Limitations: No benefit in randomised phase 3; Unpleasant, occasionally hepatotoxic; Ecological harm

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shark_cartilage
- Chemoradiotherapy with or without AE-941 in stage III non-small cell lung cancer: randomised phase III trial (JNCI 2010): https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/djq179
- NCI PDQ: Cartilage (bovine and shark): https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/cam/hp/cartilage-pdq

## Connected records

- cancers: [Colorectal cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/colorectal/), [HR-positive / HER2-negative breast cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/breast-hr-positive/), [Non-small-cell lung cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/nsclc/)
- fronts: [Supportive Care & Survivorship](https://onco.cc/fronts/supportive-care/)
- technologies: [Evidence-based integrative oncology](https://onco.cc/technologies/integrative-oncology/)
- trials: [AE-941 in Treating Patients With Relapsed or Refractory Multiple Myeloma](https://onco.cc/trials/nct00022282/), [Combination Chemotherapy Plus Radiation Therapy With or Without AE-941 in Treating Patients With Stage III Non-small Cell Lung Cancer That Cannot Be Removed By Surgery](https://onco.cc/trials/nct00005838/), [Shark Cartilage in Treating Patients With Advanced Colorectal or Breast Cancer](https://onco.cc/trials/nct00026117/)
- bottlenecks: [Failures are hidden](https://onco.cc/bottlenecks/b-negative-results/), [Misinformation and unproven therapies](https://onco.cc/bottlenecks/b-misinformation/)
- key papers: [Chemoradiotherapy with or without AE-941 in stage III non-small cell lung cancer: a randomized phase III trial](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-lu-j-natl-cancer-inst/)

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