The anticancer potential of Vitamin C.

Vitamin C exists in two forms: ascorbic acid, which is the reduced form, and dehydroascorbic acid, which is the oxidized form.


Ascorbic acid (AA)

Ewan Cameron, Ava Helen Pauling and Linus Pauling, Glasgow 1976
Ewan Cameron, Ava Helen Pauling and Linus Pauling, 1976
A clinical study (1976) by Linus Pauling (1901-1994) and Ewan Cameron (1922-1991) showed greatly increased survival time (4-fold) in terminal Stage 4 cancer patients, who had never received chemotherapy, on high dose ascorbic acid compared to the control group. Similar studies with patients who had received chemotherapy have not shown any significant survival benefit.

Vitamin C (as pure ascorbic acid) acts safely as an antioxidant in healthy tissues and may act as an oxidant in tumors. Continuous high doses of vitamin C may slow down the progression of cancer. 



High Dose: 10gr - 50gr/day of ascorbic acid, in divided doses (4 or more. for example 18 grams, divided in 6x3gr every 2 hours). Linus Pauling himself took up to 18 grams of Vitamin C a day, although his regular dose was 12grams, which he took in just one dose. {Ref} 

Note that many vitamin C supplements are buffered with minerals such as potassium, zinc, and others, and this type of vitamin C is not suited for high-dose vitamin C. Only use 100% pure non-GMO ascorbic acid. 

πŸ‘‰ 1 gram of Acerola powder contains approximately 200mg of Vitamin C. Camu Camu is another excellent source of natural Vitamin C.

1000 mg/day treatment reduces elevated C-reactive protein{Ref}
Vitamin C, about 1000 mg a day, has been found to boost NK cells
Histamine levels may reduce by about 38% after a person takes 2 grams of vitamin C.

Dehydroascorbic acid (DHA)
DHA is a stable oxidation product of AA.
Three discoveries together point the way to a potential treatment for cancer. In 1982, Poydock and colleagues found that dehydroascorbic acid has the remarkable ability to eliminate the aggressive mouse tumours, L1210, P388, Krebs sarcoma, and Ehrlich carcinoma. In 1993, Jakubowski found that cancer cells (but not normal cells) contain measurable quantities of homocysteine thiolactone. Recently, the author found that dehydroascorbic acid reacts with homocysteine thiolactone converting it to the toxic compound, 3-mercaptopropionaldehyde. Taken together, these findings suggest that rapidly-dividing tumour cells make unusually large amounts of homocysteine thiolactone and that administered dehydroascorbic acid enters the cells and converts the thiolactone to mercaptopropionaldehyde which kills the cancer cells. {ref}

Vitamin C synergy



click to enlarge the diagram



πŸ’‰Intravenous (IV) Vitamin C

  • High-dose IVC produces hydrogen peroxide which generates oxidative stress.
  • High-dose IVC depletes NAD+ levels in cancer cells.
  • Palliative Vitamin C Application in Patients with Radiotherapy-Resistant Bone Metastases: A Retrospective Study
  • 50 peer-reviewed medical studies {Ref}
  • High-Dose IVC phase 1 clinical trial: No patient (0/17) demonstrated an objective antitumor response. 13 had progressive disease.{ref}
  • Treatment of pancreatic cancer with intravenous vitamin C: a case report {ref}
  • Potential Mechanisms of Action for Vitamin C in Cancer: Reviewing the Evidence {ref}
  • Check you're not lacking an enzyme called G6PD(glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase). In the absence of that enzyme, you could be very much at risk for IV vitamin C, because G6PD is essential for maintaining the oxidative state of vitamin C.
  • High-dose Intravenous Vitamin C in Patients With Septic Shock (HIGH-VIS)

Combination of standard ascorbic acid powder and liposomal vitamin C

«Initial measurements suggest that liposomes and standard oral ascorbic acid are absorbed by independent mechanisms and that a combination of both can yield
free molecule plasma levels at >800 Β΅M/L. Importantly, such plasma levels can be sustained indefinitely using oral doses.» {ref}

 ❓  Oral vs. IV Vitamin C


Is There a Role for Oral or Intravenous Ascorbate (Vitamin C) in Treating Patients With Cancer? A Systematic Review

Is There A Use For Oral Vitamin C? {review by Steve Hickey, PhD, Hilary Roberts, PhD} 

"Clinical results using intravenous ascorbate as chemotherapy have not lived up to
the promise of the early trials. One reason for this is that IV administration produces
high but short-lived blood plasma levels. The assumption that a short sharp pulse of vitamin C 
will be more effective than a lower level prolonged exposure is not supported by
the experimental data. As we have described, extending the exposure time more than
compensates for a reduction in concentration. Indeed, longer exposures can be orders
of magnitude more effective than short ones. The concentrations required to be cytotoxic
over longer periods are much lower. Oral intakes, particularly with combined use of
ascorbic acid and liposomal vitamin C, can easily achieve and maintain adequate levels
for selective cytotoxicity.

Finally, the use of vitamin C as a sole anticancer agent is not recommended, as its
anticancer actions are known to be greatly enhanced through use of synergistic supplements,
such as alpha-lipoic acid. In clinical trials, it might be appropriate to study vitamin C
in isolation, if the medical problem were to determine the details of its mechanism of action. 

However, such mechanisms can be determined using animal and experimental studies. We therefore
see little reason to deprive patients of a more optimal therapy, purely in an attempt to determine
the action of vitamin C in isolation. There is a more pressing and practical issue: the real
medical problem is to keep cancer patients alive and healthy, for as long as possible."


Unexpected Early Response in Oral Bioavailability of Ascorbic Acid {Ref}

"By contrast to the prevailing paradigm, our results suggest that up to 4,000 mg of ascorbic acid taken by mouth can produce the same rapid increase in plasma concentration as an intravenous infusion."

How to make sodium ascorbate 




DRUGS THAT DEPLETE VITAMIN C 


References and Sources

  • Balancing Vitamin C and Glutathione: Preliminary Report
  • "the use of vitamin C supplementation "to stave off pre-eclampsia, cancer and other diseases is a 'nutraceutical' industry-driven myth which should be abandoned."{ref}
  • High-Dose Vitamin C in Advanced-Stage Cancer Patients {ref} "Although results obtained from preclinical studies demonstrated that millimolar ascorbate plasma concentrations achievable only after IVC administration were cytotoxic to fast-growing malignant cells and inhibited tumor growth as well as prolonged the survival of laboratory animals, such positive effects were not found in human studies with advanced-stage cancer patients. We also have not found the rationale for the use of IVC to increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy and to reduce the chemotherapy-induced toxicity in the above mentioned group."
  • Interference of ascorbic acid with chemical analytes {ref}


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