DCA - Miracle Cure for Cancer

Over a year ago, scientists at the University of Alberta in Canada discovered that dichloroacetate (DCA) kills cancer cells from the brain, lungs, and breasts in vitro and in lab animals. The drug has been used for over thirty years to treat a rare metabolic disease in children by affecting the mitochondria. This means that it has been safely used in humans with little effect on normal cells, though it is mildy toxic.
In cancerous cells, there is a initial lack of oxygen, causing a switch in the cell from aerobic metabolism to anaerobic. From this, the mitochondria shut down and no longer perform their other function, which is to cause apoptosis. DCA revives these mitochondria, which then cause apoptosis in the cancerous cells.
DCA is also "miraculous" in that it is small enough to cross the blood brain barrier which causes problems for other developing forms of cancer treatment. Recent studies show that aside from killing brain, lung, and breast cancer, it induces apoptosis in endometrial cancer cells and sensitizes prostate cancer cells to radiation in vitro.
The real "miracle", and perhaps the cause of its slow development, is that it is not patented and is relatively cheap to patients. Pharmaceutical companies will not invest in DCA research since it cannot be patented and not make much profit. Fortunately though, the small public funding has aided in clinical trials for the past year. The current results are encouraging and hopefully we will see this as a cure for many cancers and that government regulations and big companies will not inflate the price of this currently inexpensive drug.

Sources:
University of Alberta DCA website - http://www.depmed.ualberta.ca/dca/
The Glenn Beck Program -- video clip from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7y9PO-qAoQ