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H. Weiler A platelet cloak for tumor cells Blood, January 1, 2005; 105(1): 5 - 6. Palumbo and colleagues show that platelets and fibrinogen protect metastatic tumor cells from elimination by NK cells, confirming a striking mechanistic link between activation of the blood coagulation system and the spread of tumor metastases

...has been the number one Google search term leading people to the blog this week - and that worries me. As I wrote about a week ago, dichloroacetate, or DCA, is the molecule tested recently by a team at University of Alberta for its ability to slow the growth of human lung cancer in immunocompromised rats. Among DCA's action is the ability to prevent cancer cells from producing lactic acid via aerobic glycolysis, a process used by more than half (but not all) tumors. Scientists continue to debate whether this process is a cause of cancer, or just a byproduct of malignant cell transformation. I am deeply concerned that desperate cancer patients may be trying to purchase dichloroacetate (DCA) and self-treat for cancer based on this highly-hyped single paper. To the credit of the researchers and their institution, who have set up a website to address the intense interest, they discourage such practice: