Chondroitin sulfate belongs to a group of chemicals called proteoglycans which are known to play a role in cancer biology.It plays an important part in cartilage formation,and as cartilage erodes there is considerable loss of this vital constitutent. Recently several papers have reported a link between chondroitin sulfate and the exacerbation of already diagnosed prostate cancer, as yet no studies have been done to find out if chondroitin sulphate could cause prostate cancer.
One study compared the proteoglycans present in normal prostate tissue with that of benign prostate hypertrophy and cancer. Of all of the proteoglycans, chondroitin sulfate was most commonly increased in prostate cancer compared with normal tissues.Another study found that: “the amount of chondroitin sulfate present in the radical prostatectomy specimens correlated with the percentage of men who had a recurrence of prostate cancer within five years of surgery. This was especially true for men with a PSA under 10 nanograms per milliliter, a group with a generally good prognosis. However, in those men with a high concentration of chondroitin sulfate surrounding the cancer, 47% had recurred within five years compared with only 14% in the men with low chondroitin sulfate levels”.
Although this subject has not been studied extensively, it might be wise to err on the side of caution if you have prostate cancer and avoid chondroitin sulphate altogether.
Reference:
C.Ricciardelli, et al.”Elevated Levels of Peritumoral Chondroitin Sulphate are Predicitive of Poor Prognosis in Patients Treated with Radical Prostatectomy for Early-Stage Prostate Cancer” Cancer Research 59 (10): 2324-2328, 1999.
