Scientists at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, announced they have discovered a cheap, safe and easy cure for cancer.
A drug called Dichloroacetate (DCA), currently used to treat metabolic diseases, also has a peculiar effect on cancer: it isolates and kills cancerous cells while leaving healthy ones alone (something that current forms of treatment like radiation therapy and chemotherapy can’t do).
So far, tests have been done on cancer cell cultures and on lab rats that have been treated to have suppressed immune systems then infected with human cancers. Their drinking water was then laced with DCA, and the results have shown the drug is incredibly effective.
According to the American Cancer Society, cancer killed 553,888 people in the United States in 2004 alone. This breakthrough has received little media attention in spite of the fact that lesser breakthroughs have received more coverage.
DCA is a cheap, common drug that has been used for decades in other medications. Because it is un-patentable, drug companies would be unable to reap large profits from the sale of the medication.
Before the drug can be approved for use on humans it must pass a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspection. That can only be accomplished through billions of dollars in research and development.
With no chance for profits, drug companies have no interest in funding research and development. That leaves it up to individual scientists to find a way to test and (eventually) market the drug to the FDA.
However, with a lack of attention from the media, it may be a long hard road to drum up attention, support and funding from private investors.