Cancer Message Board

They have already found a cure for cancer, but... because "dichloroacetate" only costs pennies to make, pharmaceuticals will not fork out the money to get it patented because they wouldn't make much profit from it . I think this horrible. For those of you with cancer ,maybe you could do something about this.Just thought everyone should know. Last edited by brndbrdn; 02-04-2007 at 01:35 PM.

(male)	Re: They have already found a cure for cancer, but... Dichloroacetate (DCA) has been around for a while. It has uniqe properties that force the cancer cells mitochondria to re-activate. In most solid tumors the cancer cells mitochondria are switched off thus making the cancer cell imortal. When the DNA changes occur in a cell, the mitochondria are responsible for activating apoptosis, the process by which abnormal cells self-destruct. So DCA could potentialy exploit a weakness of solid tumor cancer cells. DCA could re-activate the mitochondria and thus trigger apoptosis. However inital testing has only been conducted under a microscope or in lab rats infected with human cancer cells. The issue is not drug companies refusing to buy a patent for the drug. Infact this drug has been patented for a long time. It is a treatment for lactic acidosis. The issue is that the patent is almost expired wich will allow a generic version to be made. This is good for the patient because it is very inexpensive to produce. With the patent over on this drug the name brand version will have to come down in price to compete with the cheaper generic versions. With the price of the drug lower, the profit margin will obviously be smaller, thus the drug company will not make as much money as if the drug still had a patent. Pharmacutical companies generally only fund name-brand patented drugs, not generic drugs. As DCA becomes generic, clinical trials will have to be funded by charities, universities, and governments. However, most generic drug cancer clinical trials are funded by those groups anyway. It would be nice if DCA works against cancer cells in live humans, however there is no such thing as a wonder drug that cures all cancer. Its not like an antibiotic that kills bacteria. None-the-less if this drug works it would be a great addition to current treatments. But these things come one step at a time. They need to figure out IF it works, then what it works on, along with the doses required, how to administer it to work most effectivly, if it works better with or without a combination of certian other drugs, etc... A lot of work lies ahead, however there are a lot of good people working across the world for a cancer-free future.. Last edited by shakorox; 02-19-2007 at 11:18 AM. Reason: Deleted irrelevant personal info

Re: They have already found a cure for cancer, but... In light of my previous post reguarding Mitochondrial response to Dichloroacetate. I want to remark that what I stated is only a theory and is being investigated. On the same note, research was conducted on individuals with MELAS syndrome, a mitochondrial disorder where patients develop an abnormal build-up of lactic acid. The theory was that Dichloroacetate would respond in the same fashion I described in my previous post. Reguardless, the adverse events of the drug was so severe the project had to be termenated early. This research was published in the February 14, 2006, issue of Neurology.