Beware: "Scientists Cure Cancer, But No One Takes Notice?"

KXLH ^

[nickcarraway]

Many people have seen - and shared - an article online with the catchy headline, "Scientists cure cancer, but no one takes notice."

Surely if a cure for cancer had been discovered, people would notice, right?

The link being circulated via Facebook and other social media sites is to a poorly-written HubPages article which states, "Researchers at the University of Alberta, in Edmonton, Canada have cured cancer last week, yet there is a little ripple in the news or in TV. It is a simple technique using very basic drug. The method employs dichloroacetate, which is currently used to treat metabolic disorders. So, there is no concern of side effects or about their long term effects."

The claim that a cancer cure had been discovered was based largely on two press releases from the University of Alberta, three years apart.

The original news from the University of Alberta was actually released in 2007; click here to read the full text. Here's a brief excerpt:

Dr. Evangelos Michelakis, a professor at the U of A Department of Medicine, has shown that dichloroacetate (DCA) causes regression in several cancers, including lung, breast, and brain tumors.

"This preliminary research is encouraging and offers hope to thousands of Canadians and all others around the world who are afflicted by cancer, as it accelerates our understanding of and action around targeted cancer treatments," said Dr. Philip Branton, Scientific Director of the CIHR Institute of Cancer.

The university published an update in May 2010, which reads in part:

No conclusions can be made on whether the drug is safe or effective in patients with this form of brain cancer, due to the limited number of patients tested by the study's leads Drs Michelakis and Petruk. Researchers emphasize that use of DCA by patients or physicians, supplied from for-profit sources or without close clinical observation by experienced medical teams in the setting of research trials, is not only inappropriate but may also be dangerous.

Biology professor PZ Myers said in May 2011 of the "cancer cure" claim:

"The simple summary is this: that claim is a lie. There have been no clinical trials of dichloroacetate (DCA) in cancer patients, so there is no basis for claiming they have a cure; some, but not all, cancers might respond in promising ways to the drug, while others are likely to be resistant (cancer is not one disease!); and there are potential neurotoxic side effects, especially when used in conjunction with other chemotherapies."

Myers goes on to say:

We should be urging further investigation of this promising drug with the beginning of clinical trials, but it's far too early to be babbling about "cancer cures". There have been lots of drugs that look great in the lab and have excellent rationales for why they should work, but the reality of cancer is that it is complicated and diverse and there are many more pitfalls between a drug that poisons cancer cells in a petri dish and a drug that actually works well in the more complex environment of a human being.

[A CA Guy]

Sounds like a mess.
There is one... No there isn’t... Maybe there is...

[Wingy]

Not this crap AGAIN?!!!

[KoRn]

This has to be at least the 1,000th time Cancer has been “cured” since I can remember .....

[SeekAndFind]

The use of DCA for curing cancer has been known for some time.

See the accounts of its use here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dichloroacetic_acid

It is quite promising, but still in the clinical testing phase.

[Boss_Jim_Gettys]

I thought chemicals caused cancer...

[Silentgypsy]

?

[hometoroost]

George Carlin said saliva causes cancer but only when swallowed in small amounts over an extended period of time. The less optimistic Joe Jackson observed that everything gives you cancer.

[decimon]

?

The DCA thing was posted here, as far as I can tell, twice last month and as early as January, 2007.

The Wikipedia entry seems to tell the story: Dichloroacetic acid

[aruanan]

The DCA thing was posted here, as far as I can tell, twice last month and as early as January, 2007.

The Wikipedia entry seems to tell the story: Dichloroacetic acid

There have been a few trials of this, though, not as of a couple years ago, clinical, double-blind trials. It seems to work in a very small number of people. It seems to work somewhat in another small number of people. It seems to work for a while in another small group of people before the cancer rebounds and kills them (my dad, for instance). The theory sounds good (reactivating mitochondria in cancer cells so that the mitochondria-controlled apoptotic mechanisms can kick in and kill the cancer cell), but there are many types of cancer in many types of tissue and even if mitochondria can be reactivated there is no guarantee that they will behave in a transformed cell as they should behave in a normal cell that is undergoing some insult that could result in its transformation into a cancerous cell.

DCA has never been demonstrated to be a cancer cure, only that some people with some types of cancer using it have experienced some degree of tumor regression, complete remission being the rarest outcome of all.

[decimon]

Sorry to see that about your dad.

Maybe something will come of it. I think the problem here was that someone chose to go with a sensational claim for an untested chemical. Untested for cancer treatment, that is.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks nickcarraway.

Biology professor PZ Myers said in May 2011 of the "cancer cure" claim:

"The simple summary is this: that claim is a lie. There have been no clinical trials of dichloroacetate (DCA) in cancer patients, so there is no basis for claiming they have a cure..."

[abcc2011]

There have been lots of natural things that have been claimed as having “cured” cancer. Some have been around since the 1800’s. The reason you’re not going to get much publicity for any kind of a cancer cure is that the cancer industry and the pharmaceutical companies, and those making tons of money off of the disease will hinder it. It’s big, big business. If a natural cure for cancer is discovered, oops there goes all of the funding for research, fund raising, drugs, clinic and hospital equipment, etc.

Take a look at history, anybody that tried to publicize an alternative way to treat cancer was attacked, ridiculed, arrested, harassed, lied on, etc.

Some supposed cancer cures from history: Hydrogen Peroxide, Colloidal Silver, Laetrile, Apricot Seeds, Essiac tea, Pau De Arco tea, Vegetarianism, Electric Therapy, Zappers, Anti-fungal substances. Vitamin C, D, etc.

[Taffini]

bump a cure for Cancer

[aruanan]

Sorry to see that about your dad.

Maybe something will come of it. I think the problem here was that someone chose to go with a sensational claim for an untested chemical. Untested for cancer treatment, that is.

Thanks. In his case there was nothing to lose. By the time his non small cell carcinoma of the lungs was discovered, it was fairly widespread. Knowing that they had seen something on X-rays over a year before when he had surgery for something else but discounted it doesn't do any good. So we had heard of this and decided to try it. He had been really run down, looking very haggard, but over the course of several months pretty much regained his old look and vigor, even driving thousands of miles to see relatives. But after all that the tumor had grown enough in one spot to cause intolerable pain. He had some radiation treatment to shrink it and then surgery to augment that. He went downhill rapidly from there.

We knew it was not a panacea; that it was never a panacea. His oncologist said to try it but just watch out for certain signs of toxicity. Alas, the cancer proved to be even more toxic.

[TChad]

The reason you’re not going to get much publicity for any kind of a cancer cure is that the cancer industry and the pharmaceutical companies, and those making tons of money off of the disease will hinder it. It’s big, big business. If a natural cure for cancer is discovered, oops there goes all of the funding for research, fund raising, drugs, clinic and hospital equipment, etc.

And the auto companies are still suppressing that 200 MPG carburetor. Oil is a big, big business, and...

Don't be ridiculous. No one goes to work every day trying to suppress cancer cures in order to increase the profits of his company.