Shark cartilage extracts as antiangiogenic agents: smart drinks or bitter pills?
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.
Gingras
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D
Laboratoire de médecine moléculaire H pital Ste-Justine-UQAM, Centre de cancérologie Charles-Bruneau, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Renaud
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A
Mousseau
N
N
Béliveau
R
R
D020533:Angiogenesis Inhibitors / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000818:Animals; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000098:blood supply / Q000188:drug therapy; D002292:Carcinoma, Renal Cell / Q000098:blood supply / Q000188:drug therapy; D002356:Cartilage / Q000737:chemistry; D017326:Clinical Trials, Phase III as Topic; D006801:Humans; D007680:Kidney Neoplasms / Q000098:blood supply / Q000188:drug therapy; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000098:blood supply / Q000188:drug therapy; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic / Q000517:prevention & control; D018919:Neovascularization, Physiologic / Q000187:drug effects; D012754:Sharks; D014020:Tissue Extracts / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use
D020533:Angiogenesis Inhibitors; D014020:Tissue Extracts; C111481:shark cartilage extract