MIT chemists have developed a new platinum compound that is as powerful as the commonly used anticancer drug cisplatin but better equipped to destroy tumor cells. Cancer cells switch their mitochondrial properties to change the way they metabolize glucose compared to normal cells, and dichloroacetate (DCA) specifically targets the altered mitochondria, leaving normal cells intact.
Reference:
Shanta Dhar and Stephen Lippard. Mitaplatin, a potent fusion of cisplatin and the orphan drug dichloroacetate. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Week of Dec. 7, 2009
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