DCA Latest Cancer Cure Hopeful

pfezziwig

DCA or dichloroacetate, was recently shown to dramatically reduce cancer tumors in mice and in cultured human cells in a petrie dish. This substance attacks a fundamental difference cancer cells exhibit with their metabolism and has already been used to treat people with certain metabolic diseases (and was shown to be safe already).

Normally it would take several years to develop the drug further but in this case it may take longer as drug companies do not want to fund the research as they cannot make money from it and it will eat into their profits from very expensive traditional chemotherapy.

With tens of thousands of individuals terminally ill with cancer this is now becoming a highly sought after substance as it can be administered in a glass a water. People are not going to wait for the scientific and legal process to run it’s normal course but will try to buy and administer it themselves. Unfortunetely this will soon be done to many people without any professional medical oversight.

I have just discovered a business that sells DCA online, 'Sophron Marketing Inc', the website is buydca.com . I made the purchase last week and just received it and plan to approach my terminally ill mother with the idea of trying it as she will soon be taken off chemotherapy and be told to go home and die. (Unfortunetely her chemo doctor cannot prescribe it due to hospital regulations)

Can anyone else tell me if this is a reputable company and product? Or even if they have tried to use it already. Has anyone else purchased DCA from other sources?

Does anyone know of any medical professionals providing advice on administering DCA?

Can anyone give me a good reason why not to give this to my terminally ill mother whose breat cancer spread to the liver ?

Staff, HealthcareReviews.com

LesleyH

I have done a little research into this. First of all, it is absolute nonsense that drug companies would not fund research into this. If the product was that effective, they would because they could market it in a way that is profitable. The product is a known carcinogen in it's present form - it causes cancer of the liver. Have you mentioned this to the oncologist?

I am truly so sorry about your mother, but I think that unscrupulous people are trying to take advantage of your desire to do one more thing to help. I will go back and check my medical sources, but I did not find any evidence in scientific journals that this product works as claimed.

Hugs.

Lesley

phoenixrising

Hi There, this is the original article as I received it for those who haven't seen it. I think this is exciting news and am very hopeful.
There are links at the bottom of the article that you may want to contact for further information as these are the people who conducted the research. For safety, you may want to do this before using a product purchased online. Best of luck to you.



Home | Events | News | Contacting RSO | Search | Site Map

Small molecule offers big hope against cancer



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Print this page | News Home | News Archives

by Ryan Smith


U of A researcher Dr. Evangelos Michelakis has shown that this tiny DCA molecule could make a difference in the battle against cancer.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Jan 17, 2007) - Edmonton - DCA is an odourless, colourless, inexpensive, relatively non-toxic, small molecule. And researchers at the University of Alberta believe it may soon be used as an effective treatment for many forms of cancer.
Dr. Evangelos Michelakis, a professor at the U of A Department of Medicine, has shown that dichloroacetate (DCA) causes regression in several cancers, including lung, breast and brain tumors.

Michelakis and his colleagues, including post-doctoral fellow Dr. Sebastian Bonnet, have published the results of their research in the journal Cancer Cell.

Scientists and doctors have used DCA for decades to treat children with inborn errors of metabolism due to mitochondrial diseases. Mitochondria, the energy producing units in cells, have been connected with cancer since the 1930s, when researchers first noticed that these organelles dysfunction when cancer is present.

Until recently, researchers believed that cancer-affected mitochondria are permanently damaged and that this damage is the result, not the cause, of the cancer. But Michelakis, a cardiologist, questioned this belief and began testing DCA, which activates a critical mitochondrial enzyme, as a way to "revive" cancer-affected mitochondria.

The results astounded him.

Michelakis, the Canada Research Chair in Pulmonary Hypertension and director of the Pulmonary Hypertension Program with the Capital Health Authority, and his colleagues found that DCA normalized the mitochondrial function in many cancers, showing that their function was actively suppressed by the cancer but was not permanently damaged by it.

More importantly, they found that the normalization of mitochondrial function resulted in a significant decrease in tumor growth both in test tubes and in animal models. Also, they noted that DCA, unlike most currently used chemotherapies, did not have any effects on normal, non-cancerous tissues.

"I think DCA can be selective for cancer because it attacks a fundamental process in cancer development that is unique to cancer cells," Michelakis said. "Cancer cells actively suppress their mitochondria, which alters their metabolism, and this appears to offer cancer cells a significant advantage in growth compared to normal cells, as well as protection from many standard chemotherapies. Because mitochondria regulate cell death - or apoptosis - cancer cells can thus achieve resistance to apoptosis, and this appears to be reversed by DCA."

"One of the really exciting things about this compound is that it might be able to treat many different forms of cancer, because all forms of cancer suppress mitochondrial function; in fact, this is why most cancers can be detected by tests like PET (positron emission tomography), which detects the unique metabolic profile of cancer compared to normal cells," added Michelakis.

Another encouraging thing about DCA is that, being so small, it is easily absorbed in the body, and, after oral intake, it can reach areas in the body that other drugs cannot, making it possible to treat brain cancers, for example.

Also, because DCA has been used in both healthy people and sick patients with mitochondrial diseases, researchers already know that it is a relatively non-toxic molecule that can be immediately tested in patients with cancer.

Furthermore, the DCA compound is not patented or owned by any pharmaceutical company, and, therefore, would likely be an inexpensive drug to administer, Michelakis added.

However, as DCA is not patented, Michelakis is concerned that it may be difficult to find funding from private investors to test DCA in clinical trials. He is grateful for the support he has already received from publicly funded agencies, such as the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR), and he is hopeful such support will continue and allow him to conduct clinical trials of DCA on cancer patients.


Michelakis' research is currently funded by the CIHR, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Canada Research Chairs program and the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research.

"This preliminary research is encouraging and offers hope to thousands of Canadians and all others around the world who are afflicted by cancer, as it accelerates our understanding of and action around targeted cancer treatments," said Dr. Philip Branton, Scientic Director of the CIHR Institute of Cancer.

This article originally appeared in ExpressNews.
Related Internal Links

Dr. Evangelos Michelakis' U of A website:
http://cardiosrv1.uah.ualberta.ca/Cardiologist/EMichelakis/EMichelakis.asp?page1.htm

U of A Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry:
http://www.med.ualberta.ca/

Related External Links

CIHR:
http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/

Canada Foundation for Innovation:
http://www.innovation.ca/index.cfm

Canada Research Chairs:
http://www.chairs.gc.ca/

Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research:
http://www.ahfmr.ab.ca/

Top of page


Home >


Copyright © 2002-2007
University of Alberta
UofA Web Project
Privacy Policy

24242

phoenixrising said:

Hi There, this is the original article as I received it for those who haven't seen it. I think this is exciting news and am very hopeful.
There are links at the bottom of the article that you may want to contact for further information as these are the people who conducted the research. For safety, you may want to do this before using a product purchased online. Best of luck to you.



Home | Events | News | Contacting RSO | Search | Site Map

Small molecule offers big hope against cancer



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Print this page | News Home | News Archives

by Ryan Smith


U of A researcher Dr. Evangelos Michelakis has shown that this tiny DCA molecule could make a difference in the battle against cancer.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Jan 17, 2007) - Edmonton - DCA is an odourless, colourless, inexpensive, relatively non-toxic, small molecule. And researchers at the University of Alberta believe it may soon be used as an effective treatment for many forms of cancer.
Dr. Evangelos Michelakis, a professor at the U of A Department of Medicine, has shown that dichloroacetate (DCA) causes regression in several cancers, including lung, breast and brain tumors.

Michelakis and his colleagues, including post-doctoral fellow Dr. Sebastian Bonnet, have published the results of their research in the journal Cancer Cell.

Scientists and doctors have used DCA for decades to treat children with inborn errors of metabolism due to mitochondrial diseases. Mitochondria, the energy producing units in cells, have been connected with cancer since the 1930s, when researchers first noticed that these organelles dysfunction when cancer is present.

Until recently, researchers believed that cancer-affected mitochondria are permanently damaged and that this damage is the result, not the cause, of the cancer. But Michelakis, a cardiologist, questioned this belief and began testing DCA, which activates a critical mitochondrial enzyme, as a way to "revive" cancer-affected mitochondria.

The results astounded him.

Michelakis, the Canada Research Chair in Pulmonary Hypertension and director of the Pulmonary Hypertension Program with the Capital Health Authority, and his colleagues found that DCA normalized the mitochondrial function in many cancers, showing that their function was actively suppressed by the cancer but was not permanently damaged by it.

More importantly, they found that the normalization of mitochondrial function resulted in a significant decrease in tumor growth both in test tubes and in animal models. Also, they noted that DCA, unlike most currently used chemotherapies, did not have any effects on normal, non-cancerous tissues.

"I think DCA can be selective for cancer because it attacks a fundamental process in cancer development that is unique to cancer cells," Michelakis said. "Cancer cells actively suppress their mitochondria, which alters their metabolism, and this appears to offer cancer cells a significant advantage in growth compared to normal cells, as well as protection from many standard chemotherapies. Because mitochondria regulate cell death - or apoptosis - cancer cells can thus achieve resistance to apoptosis, and this appears to be reversed by DCA."

"One of the really exciting things about this compound is that it might be able to treat many different forms of cancer, because all forms of cancer suppress mitochondrial function; in fact, this is why most cancers can be detected by tests like PET (positron emission tomography), which detects the unique metabolic profile of cancer compared to normal cells," added Michelakis.

Another encouraging thing about DCA is that, being so small, it is easily absorbed in the body, and, after oral intake, it can reach areas in the body that other drugs cannot, making it possible to treat brain cancers, for example.

Also, because DCA has been used in both healthy people and sick patients with mitochondrial diseases, researchers already know that it is a relatively non-toxic molecule that can be immediately tested in patients with cancer.

Furthermore, the DCA compound is not patented or owned by any pharmaceutical company, and, therefore, would likely be an inexpensive drug to administer, Michelakis added.

However, as DCA is not patented, Michelakis is concerned that it may be difficult to find funding from private investors to test DCA in clinical trials. He is grateful for the support he has already received from publicly funded agencies, such as the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR), and he is hopeful such support will continue and allow him to conduct clinical trials of DCA on cancer patients.


Michelakis' research is currently funded by the CIHR, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Canada Research Chairs program and the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research.

"This preliminary research is encouraging and offers hope to thousands of Canadians and all others around the world who are afflicted by cancer, as it accelerates our understanding of and action around targeted cancer treatments," said Dr. Philip Branton, Scientic Director of the CIHR Institute of Cancer.

This article originally appeared in ExpressNews.
Related Internal Links

Dr. Evangelos Michelakis' U of A website:
http://cardiosrv1.uah.ualberta.ca/Cardiologist/EMichelakis/EMichelakis.asp?page1.htm

U of A Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry:
http://www.med.ualberta.ca/

Related External Links

CIHR:
http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/

Canada Foundation for Innovation:
http://www.innovation.ca/index.cfm

Canada Research Chairs:
http://www.chairs.gc.ca/

Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research:
http://www.ahfmr.ab.ca/

Top of page


Home >


Copyright © 2002-2007
University of Alberta
UofA Web Project
Privacy Policy

Funny
I am from Alberta and haven't heard anything about this and mother in medical profession. Doesn't mean it is so. One can probably find more by going to Alberta Cancer Society or even BC Cancer Agencies web page.
In Canada it isn't as easy to get the funding necessary to do the research. We have strict guidlines that have to be met it appears and not always such a bad thing since we know now often times true side affects aren't known for 30 years with sometimes. USA is much easier to get the work done to get new drugs on the market and often things have been ignored or overlooked for a quick buck and often lives are at risk.
Nice to read this sharing of information,
Tara

LadyJanie

LesleyH said:

I have done a little research into this. First of all, it is absolute nonsense that drug companies would not fund research into this. If the product was that effective, they would because they could market it in a way that is profitable. The product is a known carcinogen in it's present form - it causes cancer of the liver. Have you mentioned this to the oncologist?

I am truly so sorry about your mother, but I think that unscrupulous people are trying to take advantage of your desire to do one more thing to help. I will go back and check my medical sources, but I did not find any evidence in scientific journals that this product works as claimed.

Hugs.

Lesley

HI I

I am so sorry to read your post because well you seem to have been hugely misinformed. If you would like current and correct information about dca, marketting dca, where to get dca and results of the clinical triels they are all posted on the medicor website as well as pubmed has tons of publications. DCA is not a carcenogenic! DCA is an FDA approved medication for a genetic disease. It is NOT FDA approved for cancer. Personally, I have used it off and on for over three years. I buy it from either the pharmacy in England or the pharmacy in Canada but you can also buy it from Medicor along with the very helpful staff there that will work with you via phone or in person and with your oncologist or without.