hi all
dca (odorless, colorless, inexpensive, almost non-toxic, small molecule) has researchers at the university of alberta (drmichelakis, professor department of medicine) has shown that dichoroacetate (dca) causes regression in several cancers (lung, tumor, brain).
michelakis & bonnet published results in journal cancer cell.
dca has been used for decades to treat children with problems of metabolism due to mitochondrial diseases (mitochondria = the energy producing units in cells and connected with cancer in the 1930s.
these organelles disfunctioned. the previous idea was that cancer-affecting mitochondria are permanently damaged--the result, not the cause of the cancer.
but
not so.
results astonishing.
dca normalized the mitochondrial function in many cancers and showed that their function had been actively suppressed by the cancer but had not been permanently damaged by it. AND the normalization of the mitochondrial function resulted in a SIGNIFICANT decrease in tumor-growth both in test tubes and in animals. dca, unlike most currently used chemotherapies did NOT have any effects on normal, non-cancerous tissues.
since it would seem to attack a fundamental process in cancer development that is unique to cancer cells because mitochondia regulates cell death (=apoptosis) cancer cells can thus achieve resistance to apoptosis and this was reversed by dca.
the best parts of this news are that this compound might be able to treat many different forms of cancer because all forms of cancer suppress mitochondrial function. this is why most cancers can be detected by PET tests (positron emission tomography).
dca since it is so small, and is easily absorbed by the body, allows oral intake, can reach areas in the body that many other drugs cannot. (so brain cancers could use dca, for example)
dca has been used by both health and by sick patients so it is a relatively non-toxic molecule that can be immediately tested in patients with cancer.
NOTE: dca is not patented.
dca is not owned by any pharmaceutical company.
conclusion: this will be an inexpensive drug to administer.
at any rate, this preliminary research is MOST encouraging and may offer some much needed hope for all those with cancer, including a member of my team and a husband of another, with others probably undisclosed.
all in all, most excellent news and one that fills me with hope that this scourge may be able to be treated/cured.
for a change, i have posted this news here first rather than on my team's message board but will be posting it there right away for the two people above and possibly others on my team.