Chondroitin and melanoma: How worried should you be?

Source: Harvard Health Publishing, June 2018

Chondroitin sulfate is among the most popular supplements in the world. It’s often taken in combination with glucosamine for joint disease — some take it for prevention, others to treat pain.
And yet, evidence that it actually works at all is limited at best. One review of the evidence suggested that of the few studies of chondroitin that were positive, nearly all were funded by makers of the supplement. Despite this, millions of people take it, many of my patients swear by it, and the lack of evidence doesn’t seem to be much of a concern to them. A frequent comment I hear is: “Well, I’m not sure if it’s doing much but it can’t hurt, right?” A new study suggests that maybe it can.
Can chondroitin increase melanoma risk?
Researchers publishing in the medical journal Molecular Cell are raising concerns that chondroitin sulfate may encourage the development or recurrence of melanoma, a potentially deadly form of skin cancer. Here’s what they found: