I am living with an inoperable malignant brain tumor and have participated in several treatment trials (virtually experimental) and know that while initially these trials held the promise of shrinking tumors (lab test results were always excellent), when administered to the sufferer they could cause problems that were not anticipated. I add my voice to that of Michelakis, please, do not be tempted to access this treatment until extensive clinical trials are at least commenced. Yes, put your hand up to participate in the human trials, but there are many, many differences between the tumors in rats and those in humans (even when the rat is deliberately infected by a human tumor). Cherish what you have now and make the most of it...the day will come when a cure is found, not necessarily in your lifetime, but your life will make a difference. God bless.

A couple of basic points about science writing to which Mother Jones should inspire

The original research article by Michelakis et al, appeared in Cancer Cell, Vol 11, 37-51, January 2007, and shoud be sighted, not the New Scientist, which a lay magazine that aspires to write more accurately about science

Who is Andy Coghlan, and what are his credentials? Is he the author of the New Scientist piece from which this article is regurgitated, or is he a research scientist and an experit in cancer cell biology? He is not a listed author on the research article you are discussing.

DCA has been given to humans, and a discussion of its effects would seem an obivous thing to include here (see below). Also, the chemical nature of DCA, small, chlorinated, water soluble, should be discussed. All chemicals have a listed toxicity rating from either the American College of Chemistry or OSHA or some other federal agency. Including information on the toxicity of DCA would also seem to be an obvious thing to include.

A clinical trial where DCA was given to patients of MELAS (a form of genetically inherited lactic acidosis) at 25 mg/kg/day indicated peripheral nerve toxicity.[Kaufmann et al., Neurology, 2006]

Dichloroacetate can also have anxiolytic or sedative effects.[Stacpoole et al., Environmental Health Perspectives Supplements 1998.

]

Don't you know it's illegal to cure cancer any way but THEIR way. They make billions from perpetuating illness, not from cures.

I agree with Mary Riley...

There are various other supposed 'cures' that the pharmaceutical companies can't make money on - and the FDA is quick to make those often innocuous treatments illegal. Because they are dangerous to the medical industry's money-making paradigm. Pharmaceutical companies basically run the FDA...AND! pharmaceutical drugs kill humans all the time - sometimes it's a long death - often people are just killed in our expensive for-profit hospitals.

I don't know anything about DCA. Do your own research, but don't believe the FDA!

I agree with Mary Riley. And why exactly should someone with terminal cancer not be allowed to explore other avenues, it's their life. Another example of the screwed up Bushies is there denial of marijuana to people in great pain. Why is there no allowance for medical applications of mj for those suffering great pain. And Bush and his cronies claim to be christians. How is the allowance of great suffering a christian act, to me it is a criminal act and completely unforgivable.
Americans do not use mj, only a few do and so why should those in great pain be made to suffer so much for the acts of a few who abuse mj.
Does anyone remember when Reagan/Bush put millions of dollars of drugs onto the streets of Los Angeles so they could 'do' Iran-Contra. Reagan-Bush are both guilty of trafficing in drugs but no one put them in jail, in fact they got away with their crimes.
And then there is GWB, a long time abuser in the past.

This is, unfortunately, a hoax that turns up every time some [deleted by moderator] decides to make money off the web and then disappear before the cops can find him. DCA is used to shrink warts and other skin surface lesions. It has to be carefully applied, because what it does is basically chemically cauterize the keratin. Swallowing it would pretty much cauterize your mouth, throat, and stomach. Your stomach can handle acetic acid (vinegar) and hydrochloric acid (stomach digestive juices) to a certain extent, so it's not a deadly poison, but it wouldn't do the rest of your body any good, especially once it hits the bloodstream.

Injecting it directly, and in very small amounts, into certain tumors would have the effect of cauterizing the tumor, depending on the tumor. You can't use it in the lungs, for example. But it does indeed kill healthy cells just as easily as cancer cells, even in very dilute form.

http://ptcl.chem.ox.ac.uk/MSDS/DI/dichloroacetic_acid.html

The "buydca.com" website is selling a buffered version of the chemical with a near-neutral pH.
Whatever the risks are of taking it, acid burns aren't included among them.

The approach to fighting cancer that DCA represents is new and fairly revolutionary; thus, a very highly respected scientific periodical (CANCER CELL) decided to publish the paper which started all the excitement.