Version 1
: Received: 4 March 2024 / Approved: 5 March 2024 / Online: 5 March 2024 (13:03:15 CET)
How to cite:
Koltai, T.; Fliegel, L. Dichloroacetate for Cancer Treatment: Some Facts and Many Doubts. Preprints2024, 2024030254. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202403.0254.v1
Koltai, T.; Fliegel, L. Dichloroacetate for Cancer Treatment: Some Facts and Many Doubts. Preprints 2024, 2024030254. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202403.0254.v1
Koltai, T.; Fliegel, L. Dichloroacetate for Cancer Treatment: Some Facts and Many Doubts. Preprints2024, 2024030254. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202403.0254.v1
APA Style
Koltai, T., & Fliegel, L. (2024). Dichloroacetate for Cancer Treatment: Some Facts and Many Doubts. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202403.0254.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Koltai, T. and Larry Fliegel. 2024 "Dichloroacetate for Cancer Treatment: Some Facts and Many Doubts" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202403.0254.v1
Abstract
Rarely has a chemical elicited as much controversy as has dichloroacetate (DCA). DCA was initially considered a dangerous toxic industrial waste product. Then it was a potential treatment for lactic acidosis. However, the main controversies started in 2008 when DCA was found to have anti-cancer effects in experimental animals. These publications showed contradictory results in vivo and in vitro, so that a thorough consideration of this compound in cancer is merited. Despite 50 years of experimentation, DCA’s future in therapeutics is uncertain. Without adequate clinical trials and lack of health authorities’ approval, DCA has been introduced in off -label cancer treatments in alternative medicine clinics in Canada, Germany, and other European countries. The lack of well-planned clinical trials and its use by people without medical training has discouraged consideration by the scientific community. There are limited thorough clinical studies of DCA, and many publications are individual case reports. Case
reports of DCA benefits against cancer have been increasing recently. Furthermore, it has been shown that DCA synergizes with conventional treatments and other repurposable drugs. Beyond the classic DCA target, pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase, new target molecules have also been recently discovered. These findings have renewed interest in DCA.
This paper explores whether existing evidence justifies further research on DCA for cancer treatment and it explores the role DCA may play in oncology treatment.
Medicine and Pharmacology, Oncology and Oncogenics
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
