Generic drug may be potential treatment for deadly brain cancer: U of A medical study (Part 1 of 2)

(Edmonton) Medical researchers at the University of Alberta have shown that a cheap and relatively non-toxic generic drug might be a potential treatment for perhaps the deadliest of all human cancers: a form of brain cancer called glioblastoma. A multidisciplinary research team led by Evangelos Michelakis and Kenn Petruk, both professors of medicine in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, has published evidence that the compound dichloroacetate, or DCA, affects the growth of glioblastoma tumours in humans. The findings were published in the May 12, edition of Science Translational Medicine, a journal of the American Association of the Advancement of Science. Because there currently is no effective treatment for this type of cancer, their results are highly encouraging. This work is one of the first studies in humans to support the emerging idea of altering the metabolism of tumours as a new direction of the treatment of cancer, Michelakis said. DCA is an inexpensive drug that contains dichloroacetic acid, a very small, simple molecule that resembles vinegar. It is mostly used to treat children with a rare metabolic disorder. In 2007, Michelakis and his team published evidence that DCA reverses cancer growth in non-human models by altering the metabolism of the cancer. The drug tricks cancer cells into normal energy production by changing the way they handle nutrient fuels. This causes the cancer cells to commit suicide, without harming healthy cells. Many researchers …