ReviewPharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland)2024
Dichloroacetate for Cancer Treatment: Some Facts and Many Doubts.
Review in Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland), 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed.
- Research progress in metabolic reprogramming and targeting metabolic pathways for clear cell renal cell carcinoma.Genes & diseases · 2026Review
- Metabolic Reprogramming in Oral Cancer: A Narrative Review of Therapeutic Perspectives with Emphasis on Dichloroacetate.Current issues in molecular biology · 2026Review
- Radiation induces an EGFR-dependent lactate-epigenetic program underlying synergy with EGFR inhibition.Cellular oncology (Dordrecht, Netherlands) · 2026Article
- Targeting metabolic reprogramming in HPV-associated oral squamous cell carcinoma: current advances, challenges, and clinical prospects.Journal of molecular histology · 2026Review
- Revolutionizing Breast Cancer Treatment: Harnessing Ehrlich Ascites Carcinoma Model, Cancer Metabolism, and Nanotechnology-Enhanced Chemotherapy for Improved Patient Outcomes.Cell biochemistry and biophysics · 2026Review
- Synergistic therapeutic impact of dichloroacetate nanoparticles and doxorubicin in modulating pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase in breast carcinoma model.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Dichloroacetate nanoparticles and doxorubicin combinatorial treatment augment the hepato-renal function in Ehrlich ascites carcinoma cells.BMC research notes · 2025Article
- Restricting metabolic plasticity enhances stress adaptation through the modulation of PDH and HIF1A in TRAP1-depleted colon cancer.Cancer letters · 2025Article
- Article
- Review
- Dichloroacetate and Salinomycin as Therapeutic Agents in Cancer.Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Glucose Metabolism and Tumor Microenvironment: Mechanistic Insights and Therapeutic Implications.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Investigation of the protective effects of dichloroacetic acid in a rat model of diabetic neuropathy.BMC pharmacology & toxicology · 2025Article
- Drug Repurposing: A Conduit to Unravelling Metabolic Reprogramming for Cancer Treatment.Mini reviews in medicinal chemistry · 2025Review
- Impact of lactate on immune cell function in the tumor microenvironment: mechanisms and therapeutic perspectives.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Review
- Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Rarely has a chemical elicited as much controversy as dichloroacetate (DCA). DCA was initially considered a dangerous toxic industrial waste product, then a potential treatment for lactic acidosis. However, the main controversies started in 2008 when DCA was found to have anti-cancer effects on experimental animals. These publications showed contradictory results in vivo and in vitro such that a thorough consideration of this compound's in cancer is merited. Despite 50 years of experimentation, DCA's future in therapeutics is uncertain. Without adequate clinical trials and 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 few thorough clinical studies of DCA, and many publications are individual case reports. Case reports of DCA's 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 it.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.