What is the history of the discovery and use of cartilage as a complementary or alternative treatment for cancer?
Cartilage from cows (bovine cartilage) and sharks has been studied as a treatment for cancer and other medical conditions for more than 30 years. It was once believed that sharks, whose skeletons are made mostly from cartilage, do not develop cancer. This caused interest in cartilage as a possible treatment for cancer. Although malignant tumors are rare in sharks, cancers have been found in these animals. Early studies used extracts of bovine cartilage. In the 1960s, it was first reported that bovine cartilage decreased inflammation (redness, swelling, pain, and feeling of heat).In the 1970s, it was first reported that bovine cartilage contains a substance that blocks angiogenesis (the forming of new blood vessels). If blood vessel growth into a tumor can be blocked, the tumor will stop growing or shrink.In the 1980s, researchers first described laboratory and animal studies and clinical trials (research studies in people) testing bovine cartilage as a treatment for cancer. Interest in
