DCA (Dichlorocacetic acid), a cure for cancer?

AFP reports cancer victims scrambling for a chemical DCA (Dichlorocacetic acid) which researchers at the University of Alberta, Canada, has tested on lab-dish cancer cells and on rats with human tumours. The cancers shrank dramatically. It is suspected that the chemical work by reviving a previously blocked metabolic pathway that prompts a flawed cell to commit suicide (for more details, see below). This was in January. Clinical trials for treating cancers have not been conducted yet, so doctors cannot prescribe the chemical for patients. However DCA has been used before for other disorder and have undergone clinical trials, and safe doses for those disorder at least have undergone clinical trials. Many cancer victims cannot wait for clinical trials for their cancers and are scrambling to buy DCA under the counter.

DCA is a cheap, simple and unpatented chemical. DCA is an acid and is corrosive and thus cannot be taken alone, but must be buffered for human use.

What is DCA and how does it work?

As explained above, DCA is a simple chemical, Dichloroacetic acid. Cells, normal as well as cancer cells, need energy to survive. Energy in normal cells is generated via a process call Krebs cycle which takes place in tiny structures within the cells known as mitochondria. Cancer cells bypass this cycle and produce energy using a simpler process, glycolysis, which take place in the cell's cytoplasm outside the mitochondria.

Mitochondria have 2 crucial role in normal cells - generate energy for the cell plus triggering cell death if it is faulty. This is the process that stop cancers from forming in the first place. But cancer cells seem "turn off" their mitochondria as they generate the energy in th cytoplasma, and scientists believe this is why cancer cells, which is fauty, can evade death and remain "immortal".

Mitochondria play a crucial role in cells. As well as generating energy for the cell, they can also trigger the cell to die if it is faulty – a process that helps stop cancers from forming in the first place. Because cancer cells seem to "turn off" their mitochondria, scientists think this is one way in which cancer cells are able to evade death and remain "immortal".

Researchers at the University of Alberta in January found that adding DCA to cancer cells in lab kick-starts the Krebs cycle, turning the mitochondria back on again. This cause the cancer cell to stop multiplying and die. Not only that, they found that DCA does not affect healthy cells as their mitochondria is functioning normally. Because DCA does not affect normal cells, it looks promising as a safe treatment for cancer victims.

However, cancer victims are urged to exercise caution as DCA is not a completely safe and "non-toxic" chemical.