A potential anti-cancer treatment that attracted massive public interest earlier this year is to be tested on 50 people with brain tumours.
The drug, dichloroacetate (DCA), disables the energy-producing mechanism in cancerous cells, although concerns remain over toxicity and side effects such as nerve damage.
Promising results from animal studies at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada (Â鶹´«Ã½, 20 January, p 13) led to attempts by desperate cancer patients to buy DCA – a common lab chemical – online. The US Food and Drug Administration later halted sales of the unapproved drug.
The Canadian researchers, meanwhile, sought permission from…
