Editing Shark (section)

====Popular misconceptions====
A popular myth is that sharks are immune to disease and [[cancer]], but this is not scientifically supported. Sharks have been known to get cancer.<ref>{{cite journal
|author=Finkelstein JB
|title=Sharks do get cancer: few surprises in cartilage research
|journal=Journal of the National Cancer Institute
|volume=97
|issue=21
|pages=1562–3
|year=2005
|pmid=16264172
|doi=10.1093/jnci/dji392|doi-access=free
}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal
|author1=Ostrander GK |author2=Cheng KC |author3=Wolf JC |author4=Wolfe MJ |title=Shark cartilage, cancer and the growing threat of pseudoscience
|journal=Cancer Research
|volume=64
|issue=23
|pages=8485–91
|year=2004
|pmid=15574750
|doi=10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-04-2260|doi-access=free
}}</ref> Both diseases and [[parasites]] affect sharks. The evidence that sharks are at least resistant to cancer and disease is mostly [[anecdotal]] and there have been few, if any, scientific or [[statistical]] studies that show sharks to have heightened immunity to disease.<ref>{{cite magazine
| url = http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/08/0820_030820_sharkcancer.html
| title = Do Sharks Hold Secret to Human Cancer Fight?
| magazine = National Geographic
| access-date = 2006-09-08
| archive-url = https://archive.today/20120716072116/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/08/0820_030820_sharkcancer.html
| archive-date = 2012-07-16
| url-status = dead
}}</ref>
Other apparently false claims are that fins prevent [[cancer]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prostatecancertreatment.co.uk/treatment-options/alternative-approaches |title=Alternative approaches to prostate cancer treatment |access-date=2008-06-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080602134207/http://www.prostatecancertreatment.co.uk/treatment-options/alternative-approaches |archive-date=June 2, 2008 }}</ref> and treat [[osteoarthritis]].<ref>{{cite news
|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/03/health/03cancer.html
|title=Shark Cartilage, Not a Cancer Therapy
|last=Pollack
|first=Andrew
|date=3 June 2007
|newspaper=New York Times
|access-date=2009-08-29
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211030840/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/03/health/03cancer.html
|archive-date=11 December 2008
|url-status=live
}}</ref> No scientific proof supports these claims; at least one study has shown shark cartilage of no value in cancer treatment.<ref>The results of a study sponsored by the [[National Cancer Institute]], and led by Dr. Charles Lu of the [[M.D. Anderson Cancer Center]] in [[Houston, Texas]], were presented at the annual meeting of the [[American Society of Clinical Oncology]] on June 2, 2007 in [[Chicago]]. Cancer patients treated with extracts from shark cartilage had a '''shorter''' median lifespan than patients receiving a placebo. {{cite web|url=http://www.pchrd.dost.gov.ph/library/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=338&Itemid=27 |title=Shark fin won't help fight cancer, but ginseng will |access-date=2008-06-23 }}{{dead link|date=July 2019|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>