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Chondroitin Sulfate for Relief of Osteoarthritis Symptoms in Prostate
Cancer Patients By Charles "Snuffy" Myers, MD
information last updated on January, 2005

Patients often use chondroitin sulfate in combination with glucosamine
to relieve osteoarthritis symptoms. Unfortunately, chondroitin sulfate
also appears to play such a major role in cancer biology that using it
may be risky.

The cartilage that lines your joints incorporates a group of proteins
that contain chondroitin sulfate. When the joint is damaged (as it is
in osteoarthritis), the joint cartilage responds by producing an array
of chondroitin-containing proteins in a futile attempt to heal. The
general consensus suggests that oral chondroitin sulfate enhances the
effectiveness of these proteins, improving joint function and relieving
pain. One of the proteins produced in the arthritic joint is the
chondroitin binding protein versican.

You can find versican on the surface of a wide range of cancer cell
types. In general, the greater the amount of chondroitin-containing
versican bound to the cancer cell, the more likely it is that the
cancer cell will be able to spread widely throughout the body. There is
sufficient documentation of this effect of versican for prostate
cancer, melanoma, some brain tumors, and a range of other cancers. For
example, the amount of chondroitin sulfate found associated with
prostate cancer in radical prostatectomy specimens correlates with the
risk of recurrent disease.

Versican is not the only chondroitin sulfate-containing protein found
on prostate cancer cells. TNB2 is a chondroitin sulfate-containing
protein whose appearance is associated with the development of
hormone-independent prostate cancer. It's also more likely to be
found in prostate cancers with Gleason grades 8-10 rather than in low
Gleason grade tumors that normally have a good prognosis.

Chondroitinases are proteins that cleave chondroitin sulfate from
proteins like versican. In animal experiments, chondroitinase
treatments slow the progression of cancer, leading to the suggestion
that chondroitin-containing proteins on the surface of cancer cells are
a useful therapeutic target.

All of this science suggests that taking the sufficient amount of
chondroitin sulfate to protect the cartilage lining of your joints
might also foster prostate cancer progression, as well as the growth of
other malignancies. I recommend you avoid chondroitin sulfate until
clinical trials can demonstrate its safety.

Alternatively, I recommend glucosamine, because there is no evidence
that glucosamine fosters the progression of prostate cancer.
Furthermore, a randomized controlled clinical trial shows that
glucosamine preserves the thickness of joint cartilage, thus slowing
the progression of osteoarthritis. In this trial, they used daily
glucosamine sulfate doses of 1,500 mg over a three-year period.

References:
1. D.P. De Klerk, et al., "Glycosaminoglycans of human prostatic
cancer" J Urol 131: 1008-12, 1984.
2. M.R. Freeman, et al., "Extracellular matrix and androgen receptor
expression associated with spontaneous transformation of rat prostate
fibroblasts" Cancer Res 51: 1910-6, 1991.
3. D.H. Schamhart, et al., "Role of proteoglycans in cell adhesion of
prostate cancer cells: from review to experiment" Urol Res 25: S89-96,
1997.
4. S. Iida, et al., "Analysis of glycosaminoglycans in human prostate
by high-performance liquid chromatography" Br J Urol 79: 763-9, 1997.
5. C. Ricciardelli, et al., "Elevated stromal chondroitin sulfate
glycosaminoglycan predicts progression in early-stage prostate cancer"
Clin Cancer Res 3: 983-92, 1997.
6. J.P. Rodriguez, et al., "Soluble factors secreted by PC-3 cells
induce structural changes in proteoglycans produced by fetal rat
osteoblasts" Tumour Biol 19: 19-29, 1998.
7. C. Ricciardelli, et al., "Elevated levels of versican but not
decorin predict disease progression in early-stage prostate cancer"
Clin Cancer Res 4: 963-71, 1998.
8. C. Ricciardelli, et al., "Elevated levels of peritumoral chondroitin
sulfate are predictive of poor prognosis in patients treated by radical
prostatectomy for early- stage prostate cancer" Cancer Res 59: 2324-8,
1999.
9. K.M. Eisenmann, et al., "Melanoma chondroitin sulphate proteoglycan
regulates cell spreading through Cdc42, Ack-1 and p130cas" Nat Cell
Biol 1: 507-13, 1999.
10. J.Y. Reginster, et al., "Long-term effects of glucosamine sulphate
on osteoarthritis progression: a randomised, placebo-controlled
clinical trial" Lancet 357: 251-6, 2001.
11. N.M. Thie, et al., "Evaluation of glucosamine sulfate compared to
ibuprofen for the treatment of temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis:
a randomized double blind controlled 3 month clinical trial" J
Rheumatol 28: 1347-55, 2001.
12. E. Glynne-Jones, et al., "TENB2, a proteoglycan identified in
prostate cancer that is associated with disease progression and
androgen independence" Int J Cancer 94: 178-84, 2001.
13. E.M. Denholm, et al., "Anti-tumor activities of chondroitinase AC
and chondroitinase B: inhibition of angiogenesis, proliferation and
invasion" Eur J Pharmacol 416: 213-21, 2001.
14. M. Touab, et al., "Versican is differentially expressed in human
melanoma and may play a role in tumor development" Am J Pathol 160:
549-57, 2002.

There is a product called Glucosatrin w/ 1500mg of glucosamine and 3
cox-2 inhibitors that works well for joint health.