NCI Launches Randomized Trial of Shark Cartilage in NSCLC

BETHESDA, Md—Enrollment has begun in a trial of Neovastat (Aeterna Laboratories), also known as AE-941, to test the Canadian-produced shark cartilage extract in patients with unresectable stages IIIA and IIIB non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who are undergoing induction chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, supported by the National Cancer Institute, anticipates enrolling 756 patients within the next 3 years at more than 50 sites in the United States and Canada.