Did we cure cancer, but no one cares?

Tue, 30 Jan 2007 06:38:12 GMT

clipped by: B Rosen
clipper's remarks: While this may not be the miracle drug this article seems to make it out to be, it seems the this is something that deserves a lot more research.

Clip Source: media.www.studentprintz.com

Scientists cure cancer, but no one takes notice

Scientists cured cancer last week.

Here's the deal. Researchers at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada found a cheap and easy to produce drug that kills almost all cancers. The drug is dichloroacetate, and since it is already used to treat metabolic disorders, we know it should be no problem to use it for other purposes.

The drug also has no patent, which means it could be produced for bargain basement prices in comparison to what drug companies research and develop.

Scientists 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 supplemented with DCA.

The side effect of this is it also reactivates a process called apoptosis. You see, mitochondria contain an all-too-important self-destruct button that can't be pressed in cancer cells. Without it, tumors grow larger as cells refuse to be extinguished. Fully functioning mitochondria, thanks to DCA, can once again die.

Here's the big catch. Pharmaceutical companies probably won't invest in research into DCA because they won't profit from it. It's easy to make, unpatented and could be added to drinking water. Imagine, Gatorade with cancer control.

Cancer cells don't use the little power stations found in most human cells - the mitochondria. Instead, they use glycolysis, which is less effective and more wasteful.

Tags: cancer cure, cancer, science, drug

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Did we cure cancer, but no one cares?

Scientists cure cancer, but no one takes notice