Sodium dichloroacetate, or NaDCA (abbreviated as DCA or dichloroacetate) is a simple molecule. It has neither odor nor color. It is non-toxic and cheap to produce.

Representatives from the University of Alberta (UA) claim that it is possible to use DCA as a cure for various forms of cancer. One of the professors from the abovementioned University proved that DCA helps with regression of lung and breast cancers, as well as brain tumors (among others). The results of the study may be viewed in the research journal Cancer Cell published by the researchers from UA (including a cardiologist, Dr. Evangelos Michelakis and Dr. Sebastien Bonnet).
It should be noted that DCA had been used before by men of science and medicine. It was successfully used in treatment of inborn defects connected with metabolism. These diseases were reported to have a connection with mitochondria. It should be noted that for nearly 80 years researchers have known that cancer has a negative influence on mitochondria, causing them to function abnormally. For most of this time, however, the most popular claim was that it was not possible for the mitochondria to function normally after they have been affected by cancer.
Dr. Michelakis attempted to undermine this thesis and stated that DCA may restore the destroyed mitochondria to their former state. He hoped that during the tests DCA could make the mitochondria produce an enzyme, which would help in their restoration. The results of the tests surpassed his expectations. Dichloroacetate not only prevented the mitochondria from being devastated, but also decreased the tumor growth in test tubes and animal models. Unlike a great number of chemotherapies used nowadays, DCA did not affect healthy tissues.
According to Michelakis, this may happen because DCA targets a process, which may only be observed in cancer cells. He stressed the fact that Dichloroacetate may be used as a treatment for several forms of cancer.
Because DCA is a small molecule, it is easier for the body to absorb it. Therefore, it may be used to treat forms of cancer such as brain cancers, which are unreachable by commonly used drugs.
It is important to note that DCA has already been tested years ago on both healthy and sick patients. DCA was marked as relatively non-toxic and therefore action may be taken to test it on people with cancer.
It is a fact that dichloroacetate cannot be patented, being a small molecule. If it is released as a drug, it would be cheaper than if it would be patented by a pharmaceutical company. However, for the same reason it is difficult for Dr. Michelakis to find sponsors for clinical trials for DCA. He is currently supported by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, the Canada Foundation of Innovation, the Canada Research Chairs program, the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research and other private sources. The clinical trials on humans have already started, however it may not be possible for Dr. Michelakis to finish them yet, because additional funding is needed.
At the beginning of 2007, doctors from the University of Alberta (UA) led by Dr. Michelakis described their research in Cancer Cell, a scientific journal. They used a small molecule, dichloroacetate (DCA) on cancer cells in rats and discovered that due to restoration of damaged mitochondria, the tumors became smaller by 70% in three weeks.
It is important to note that DCA is not a drug. It is a molecule and as such cannot be formally prescribed by a doctor or patented as a drug.
The new trial
In this study, Michelakis and his team gave DCA to five patients with advanced glioblastoma, a type of brain tumour, in combination with surgery, radiotherapy and a drug called temozolomide. It’s important to point out that the aim of this study was not to find out whether DCA could treat glioblastoma, but to figure out the safest dose to use for cancer patients. We already know that the drug can be safely given to humans – although it can cause side effects – but this is the first time it has been tested in people with cancer.
The study shed light on the dose that could be given to patients without causing nerve problems or other serious side effects. Four patients were still alive after 18 months, and three showed some shrinkage of their tumour, but it is impossible to tell with such a small study whether this is longer than might be expected. And, given that they were also receiving other treatment, it’s hard to know if it was due to DCA at all.
As well as this small trial, the researchers also looked at the effect of DCA on tumour samples from 49 other glioblastoma patients. They found that DCA could switch mitochondria back on in the cancer cells, although – crucially – it’s still not clear exactly how it’s doing this.
Finally, the team looked at tumour samples taken from the five patients on the trial, both before and after treatment with DCA, and found that the drug was again helping to switch mitochondria on. They also discovered other differences in the cancer cells’ metabolism before and after treatment.
A key gap in this trial is that, as we’ve mentioned above, it’s not clear exactly how DCA is working. The researchers suggest that the drug may target cancer stem cells and prevent the growth of blood vessels into tumour, although they didn’t actually prove this.
Is it safe?
These results show that lower doses of DCA could, at least in theory, be given to cancer patients while avoiding some of the damaging side effects seen at higher doses. For example, a clinical trial of DCA for a childhood disease found that the drug caused significant side effects, affecting the nervous system. It is also known to be an environmental pollutant. And researchers have found that DCA can actually cause cancer in animals.
This is not necessarily a barrier to the use of DCA as a treatment for cancer – there are a number of powerful cancer drugs that are carcinogens themselves. And this is why we need to test them in clinical trials (as Michelakis and his team have begun to do here) to discover how they can be safely used to treat patients while minimising any harmful effects.
Why can’t we use it now?
It is understandable that people with cancer will want to try everything possible to help treat their disease. However, there is still no evidence – yet – to support the immediate use of DCA to treat cancer patients.
The trial in Canada is being conducted under stringent conditions both to ensure the validity of the results and to protect the participants from any unforeseen effects. Further clinical trials of DCA using more patients will help determine whether the treatment is more effective than the cancer therapies that are currently available.
There are reports that people are buying personal supplies of DCA from sources such as the internet. Cancer Research UK would strongly advise against this, as DCA still has not been shown to actually treat tumours successfully in patients. And it may be harmful when given to cancer patients without accurate dosing and medical supervision.
What will happen in the future?
It is clear that DCA is an intriguing drug – one of many currently being investigated by scientists around the world. It will be interesting to see the results of more extensive lab-based experiments and larger clinical trials of DCA. And cancer cell metabolism is certainly a productive area of research that we’re actively funding.
The fact that DCA is off-patent is no barrier to its development as a treatment for cancer. For example, Cancer Research UK has secured a licence for an off-patent drug called fenretinide, which could be used to treat rare childhood cancers. And there is certainly no “conspiracy” by pharmaceutical companies to prevent research into DCA – there is just not enough evidence at the moment to support its widespread use to treat patients.
While these results are intriguing, it is unlikely that this one compound represents “the cure” for cancer – and it is also unlikely that DCA is the “wonder drug” that the headlines portray. Cancer is a complex and multi-faceted disease, and it can be caused by a range of different faults within the cell. It is unlikely that any single drug could ever treat all forms of the disease.
There are many promising new treatments for cancer currently in development, funded by organisations across the globe – including Cancer Research UK. If anything, these new results show why research is so important in bringing safe and effective treatments to people with cancer – they don’t provide definitive answers, but they support further investigations which may yield benefits for patients in the future.