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NEWTON Home Page NEWTON Teachers Visit Our Archives Ask A Question How To Ask A Question Question of the Week Our Expert Scientists Volunteer at NEWTON! Frequently Asked Questions Referencing NEWTON About NEWTON About Ask A Scientist Education At Argonne Shark cartilage and cancer 
Name: Denise Scherer
Location: N/A
Country: N/A
Date: N/A
Question:
How is shark cartilage used to treat/prevent cancer, and how widely accepted is this method?


Replies:
Although there has been speculation in the past that there may be some factor in shark's cartilage that prevents cancer, recent research by the National Cancer Institute could not confirm this, and there is no scientific evidence that I know of to support that theory. In fact, though it doesn't happen too often, sharks do indeed contract cancer, and do develop tumors. For more information, refer to the article "Sharks do get Cancer" by Tim Beardsley in SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, Oct. 1993.

Tom F Ihde


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