Sharks May Help Fight Cancer

Buy an ad on DigitalJournal.com

A story published in News - Medical .Net reports that antibodies found in sharks are able to withstand high temperatures as well as extremely acidic or alkaline conditions and are possibly able to survive in the harsh environment of the human gut, which is crucial to the development of cancer-fighting drugs.

In many ways, the immune system of a shark is similar to humans, but their antibodies may have what it takes to slow or even halt the growth of cancer cells in humans.

Molecules in shark blood can attach themselves to cancer cells and retard or even stop the growth of cancer cells.

There is already evidence that the antibodies can indeed slow the progression of Breast Cancer.

According to the scientists in this report, because shark antibodies are much smaller, chemically more robust and biologically more stable than conventional antibodies, they are uniquely well suited for targeted therapy - raising the prospect of new therapies that can be taken orally instead of injected.

The process involves taking genes from sharks and modifying them in a laboratory by adding proteins that cause random mutations, which mimics the way the human immune system works, developing antibodies capable of a repertoire of defensive responses.

Further research from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, CSIRO, in Australia provides more hope for Cancer victims.