I've realized that blogging about topical drug or poison news is kinda fun, so here's another actual blog post. CBC News has reported that Health Canada (the Canadian FDA) just approved a phase 2 clinical trial (testing a drug in a small number of sick people to see if it helps them get better) to see if a compound called dichloroacetate (dichloroacetic acid, DCA) can help people with glioblastoma multiforme, an incurable variety of brain cancer that typically knocks people off within a year of diagnosis.DCA is a relatively simple chemical; It's essentially just vinegar (acetic acid) with a couple of chlorine atoms taking the place of hydrogen atoms. It is currently a generic (off patent) drug used to treat lactic acidosis, a potentially serious condition associated with a number of things including certain inherited mitochondrial diseases (e.g. MELAS), hypoglycemia (low blood sugar, a recurring issue with diabetes mellitus), severe malaria, and anything that results in a prolonged
It’s been three months since an article on dichloroacetate (DCA), the chemotherapeutic agent that selectively inhibits cancer cell growth in lung, breast and brain tumor cells grown in culture and lung tumors grown in immunocompromised rats, was published on Highlight HEALTH. Since then, thousands of people have read the article. Indeed, the blogosphere has been buzzing about DCA, unfortunately focusing on a conspiracy theory accusing big pharma of suppressing a cure for cancer instead of recognizing the study for what it is - a preliminary study in cell culture and rats that cannot be translated to humans without further research and clinical trials.
Safe alternative to DCA?
I was curious to see if there were any new developments regarding DCA use in either cancer prevention or the treatment of cancer. A Google search for “dichloroacetate” returned 340,000 pages, but before I had a chance to start browsing, one of the Sponsored Links at the top of the page caught my
Dichloroacetate has been in the headlines recently, reported to be a cheap, effective cancer cure. The article, published in print and on the website NewScientist.com, ran with the headline “Cheap, safe drug kills most cancers”, implying incorrectly that it can kill tumors in humans.
Researchers at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, recently reported that they found a cheap and easy drug to produce that is able to cause tumor regression in lung, breast and brain tumor cells grown in culture and lung tumors grown in immunocompromised rats. The drug, Dichloroacetate (DCA), targets mitochondria (meaning an organelle in the cell that produces energy) and induces apoptosis (meaning cell death), decreases proliferation and selectively inhibits cancer cell growth. It did not have any effects on normal, non-cancerous tissue. The findings were published in the January edition of the journal Cancer Cell.
Cancer cells don’t use mitochondria for energy, instead using
Dichloroacetate has been in the headlines recently, reported to be a cheap, effective cancer cure. The article, published in print and on the website NewScientist.com, ran with the headline “Cheap, safe drug kills most cancers”, implying incorrectly that it can kill tumors in humans.
Researchers at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, recently reported that they found a cheap and easy drug to produce that is able to cause tumor regression in lung, breast and brain tumor cells grown in culture and lung tumors grown in immunocompromised rats. The drug, Dichloroacetate (DCA), targets mitochondria (meaning an organelle in the cell that produces energy) and induces apoptosis (meaning cell death), decreases proliferation and selectively inhibits cancer cell growth. It did not have any effects on normal, non-cancerous tissue. The findings were published in the January edition of the journal Cancer Cell.
Cancer cells don’t use mitochondria for energy, instead using
According to a post on ForumSains.com, scientists might have found an anti cancer agent. Though it's not yet tested on human this sounds really promising.
Bonnet from University of Alberta, Canada tested DCA on human cells cultured outside the body where it killed lung, breast and brain cancer cells, but left healthy cells alone. Rats plump with tumors shrank when they were fed water
