“Shark liver oil has gained a lot of popularity over the last 4 years since the finding of a compound called squalamine in the oil which addresses the angiogenesis process. Angiogenesis is the process of blood vessels formation in the body that tumors utilize to grow/progress. Researchers at Johns Hopkins and Managainin Pharmaceuticals found that squalamine inhibited the ability of blood vessels to migrate into the tumors thus cutting off the tumor's ability to connect with the bloodstream.
Another key component in the shark liver oil is called alkylglycerols. The mechanism against cancer growth for the alkylglycerols are different than the squalamine functions. Alkylglycerols work to shut off a critical phase/process inside the cancer cell called protein kinase C that the cancer cell utilizes to replicate. I have found the combination of the squalamine and alkylglycerols work greater and more effectively together than using either one alone.
I personally do not utilize shark cartilage for several reasons, primarily due to its high cost, amount required to achieve therapeutic levels, and its lack of squalamine. Shark cartilage does not have any squalamine or alkylglycerols but it does contain a small protein that has been found to have some effect on the angiogenesis process which is what has always been known and used for. Up until the recent research and findings on squalamine the cartilage was thought to be the only option for an agent to address the angiogenesis process. I routinely have individuals who use both the cartilage and the shark liver oil in combination. Each of these has a component that the other does not so they work together against the angiogenesis process.”
“Shark liver oil contains numerous components that are beneficial for various disease states but contains two that are very specific for their role in cancer. These are squalamine and alkylglycerols both of which are not present in cod liver oil. Squalamine acts against the process of angiogenesis- a critical process needed by all malignant cells whereby blood vessels migrate into the tumor and acts as its “lifeline”. Without blood vessels formation into the tumor -it simply cant thrive. There is direst correlation to the rate of angiogenesis and blood formation to the rate of tumor growth. The greater the number of blood vessels forming into the mass the larger and more progressive it becomes.
The alkylglycerols also have anti-tumor activity but their role is more specific for immune system function. This role is of utmost importance in the cases where chemotherapy is used due to the immune surpressing action of chemotherapy. The alkylglycerols work to enhance the bone marrow's emission of white blood cells and also T cell activity.
There are several other treatments in addition to high doses of shark liver oil that need to be implemented when undergoing therapy or radiation treatment.
The NIH is currently funding several studies involving squalamine in conjunction with combination chemotherapy agents. These studies are being done in Wisconsin, Texas, and Georgetown NY.
If I can offer you any further assistance with your treatment let me know. There are various processes that need to be addresses that are not addressed with chemotherapy/radiation alone.
I will also forward you a couple of testimonies that I have received over the past months from individuals who pursued the regimen in conjunction with their current treatment programs. Let me know if you would like to contact them.
Pray for guidance…”
Dr. John Maras
“What, I'm sure you'd like to know, does the humble and beneficent olive have in common with the ferocious shark? Nothing much, apart from uniquely high levels of a substance called squalene.
Let's turn from squalene for just one moment. The really interesting direction from which to approach this whole subject is to ask why a high consumption of olive oil is associated with a sharp drop in levels of breast cancer and probably several other types of cancer. In Greece, women take approximately 40 per cent of their caloric intake from fat. That was the level American women were at until a slight decline in recent years. Contrary to any simplistic theory about the relationship of fat consumption to breast cancer, however, Greek women have only one-third of incidence of breast cancer of American women. That isn't the end of the good news for Greek women. Those among them who consume olive oil more than once a day have a further reduction of 25 percent of their breast cancer risk. This phenomenon is not confined to Greece. Most of the major olive-consuming countries surrounding the Mediterranean show a similar pattern. A study done in Spain showed a reduced breast cancer risk in women consuming the most olive oil. Similar research in Italy suggests that olive oil exerts protective effects; the edible oil consumed by Italians is olive oil about 80 percent of the time. An Italian study done in 1990 also showed decreased incidence of pancreatic cancer in people who consumed the most olive oil.
The protective effect of olive oil had been thought to be due to the high proportion of it (72 percent) that comes from the monosaturated fatty acid oleic acid. This fatty acid is also found in beef and poultry (45 percent of fat) as well as in other vegetable oils, such as corn, palm, soybean, and sunflower seed. And many of these other fats and oils rich in oleic acids have accidentally shown association with greater risk of cancer. This has caused scientists to look at squalene. Nearly 1 percent of the content of olive oil is squalene. That's a uniquely high concentration compared to what is found in the other fats and oils that human beings commonly consume. In fact, food regulatory parameters use squalene concentration to determine the purity of olive oil.
That squalene should be the good guy really doesn't come as a surprise. Studies have shown that this nutritional precursor has anti-cancerogenic affects for which we seem to have a very good explanation. It inhibits skin cancers in laboratory animals caused by the potent cancerogenic bemzoprene. In other research, animals were protected from breast cancer, and it may be that we know the mechanism of this protection. Squalene has been found to inhibit (by 80 percent!) an enzyme called HMGcoA - reductase that – after various chemical conversions – makes possible the activation of the ras oncogene.
Oncogenes, by the way, are rather special genes that generally remain latent, or unactivated, throughout our lives. They never cause us problems unless they are activated, and then they will tend to push you strongly toward cancer.
The ras oncogene is quite an infamous culprit in cancer studies. It has been shown to have an association with many types of cancers, including melanoma, colon, breast, and pancreas. If squalene protects us, as it seems to, this may be why. Please note: the average squalene intake in the United States is only 30 milligrams a day. In Greece, Italy, with their vastly higher olive oil consumption, squalene intake is usually in the range of 200 to 400 milligrams a day.
All of this evidence points a finger squarely at squalene. There are very good logical reasons suggesting that it should be protective against cancer. Animal studies from countries that border the Mediterranean are giving strong indications that this hypothetical protection is very real. I can recommend only two steps. First, incorporate olive oil in your diet. Learn to cook with it. It is by far the healthiest cooking oil in common use. Once you grow accustomed to it, start using it on your salads. In your household, we use nothing but. I suggest you use virgin or extra virgin olive oil, as these are made from the first pressing of the olive and are nutritionally richer. My second recommendation, based on all the evidence in this chapter, is that you add shark liver oil to your list of nutritional supplements. The combination of AKGs and extra squalene that it will put in your diet will be formidably health enhancing.”
(Dr. John Maras)
Possible benefits of squalene:
-brain tumors
-beast tumors
-prostate tumors
-colon tumors
-infections
(Dr. John Maras)
“Plymouth Meeting, PA, November 16, 2000-Magainin Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: MAGN) today announced positive results for its anti-angiogenic drug, squalamine, in its first therapeutic clinical study in non-small cell lung cancer open-label design examining the preliminary efficacy and safety of squalamine, combined with standard chemotherapy of carboplatin and placitaxel, in patients with Stage III b or Stage IV advanced disease. Objective responses were observed in 36% of patients (8 of 22), receiving the treatment dose of squalamine (300 mg/m2/dayz) for one or more cycles of therapy. Overall, at all doses of squalamine, 31% of patients (11 of 36) experienced an objective response. In comparison, the historical benchmark objective response rate for this group of patients treated with carboplatin and placitaxel alone is 15%, as demonstrated in the large Eastern Cooperative Oncology study presented at the American Society for Clinical Oncology meeting in May, 2000. An objective response is defined as a 50% or greater reduction in tumor size. Survival data for the patients in the study continues to be collected, and the median survival time is not yet determinable. Commenting on the results of the study, Dr. Joan Schiller, Professor of Oncology at the University of Wisconsin, and lead investigator for the trial, noted, “the results from this first clinical trial indicate squalamine shows promise as a novel therapy for patients with this devastating disease. I look forward to participating in the further development of squalamine for the treatment of lung cancer.”
Dr. Kenneth Holroyd, Senior Vice President of Clinical Research and Regulatory Affairs commented, “This successful trial enabled us to establish clinical activity for squalamine in lung cancer. I look forward to working with our outstanding scientific and medical collaborators in further developing squalamine for lung cancer, and a number of other important medical conditions.”
Magainin also outlined further clinical development plans for squalamine. More extensive, randomized studies of squalamines in NSCLC will be conducted, and the Company is currently considering these further plans with its advisors. Clinical studies are also underway in both primary and recurrent ovarian cancer. The Company expects to focus its efforts going forward in recurrent and resistant disease patients, where the Company has been encouraging early objective responses.
Studies are ongoing in other adult solid tumors, and the Company plans additional studies in prostate cancer, pediatric solid tumors, brain tumors (in combination with radiation therapy), and in fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP). Michael R. Dougherty, President and Chief Executive officer commented, “We are delighted with the activity of squalamine demonstrated in this phase 2 study. Achieving our objectives in this trial is an important step forward for our company, and for our amino sterol platform of proprietary compounds. The clinical program for squalamine expands, and there are multiple opportunities for success with this unique anti-angiogenic agent.”
“Our leadership in leveraging the value of natural product discovery and genomics into promising new drugs has made possible the development of novel therapies such as squalamine. The Company's portfolio of drug development candidates is shaping nicely beyond squalamine. Our respiratory program includes a lead IL-9 antibody program partnered with Genentech, and several additional opportunities. These include our anti-inflammatory “mucoregulators” being developed for upper and lower inflammatory airway diseases, such as chronic sinusitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Our amino sterol program is anchored by squalamine, but we are increasingly focused also on produlestan, which has shown great promise in many preclinical obesity models and will be developed as a much needed treatment for medially significant obesity.”
Squalamine is the first clinical drug candidate in a class of naturally occurring, pharmacologically active, small molecules known as aminosterols. Squalamine is an anti-angiogenic molecule with a unique mechanism of action that blocks andothelial (blood vessels) cell activation, migration and proliferation by multiple growth factors. Squalamine's intracellular blockade of multiple growth factors contracts with many other angiogenesis inhibition programs. Preclinical studies have demonstrated that this multi-faceted approach may allow squalamine broad application across many cancer types, and in proliferative eye diseases.
The current trial initially enrolled 18 patients with an escalating dose of squalamine from 100 mg/m2/day to 400 mg/ms/day. Eighteen patients were then enrolled in a second portion of the study at a set 300 mg/m2/ day dose. Based on response rate seen, nine additional patients have been enrolled in the study. The patients received up to 6 cycles of carboplatin and placitaxel every 3 weeks, to which a 5-day infusion of squalamine every three weeks was added.
The squalamine therapy began as soon as the carboplatin and placitaxel infusion ended.”
(Dr. John Maras)