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2008-08-05 07:48:55
An injection of a high dose of vitamin C may be able to hold back the advance
of cancers, US scientists claim.
The vitamin may start a destructive chain reaction within the cancer cell, they
add.
The jab halved the size of brain, ovarian and pancreatic tumours in mice,
reported the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
However, Cancer Research UK said other studies suggested large vitamin C doses
may interfere with cancer treatment.
This is encouraging work but it's at a very early stage because it involves
cells grown in the lab and mice
Dr Alison Ross
Cancer Research UK
Earlier research by the team at the National Institutes of Health in Maryland
had suggested that the vitamin, also called ascorbate, could kill cancer cells
in the laboratory.
After these successful tests in mice, they are now suggesting that the
treatment be considered for human use at similar levels.
The dose they employed - up to four grams per kilo of bodyweight - was far
greater than any that could be achieved using diet or vitamin pills, as the
digestive system does not absorb more than a fixed amount taken orally.
The mice were bred to have malfunctioning immune systems, then injected with
human cancer cells, which as a result, grew quickly into large tumours. The
vitamin was then injected into their abdominal cavity.
Tumour growth and weight fell by between 41% and 53%, and while in untreated
mice, the disease spread rapidly to involve other body parts, no such spread
was seen in the vitamin C-treated animals.
The researchers wrote: "These pre-clinical data provide the first firm basis
for advancing pharmacologic ascorbate in cancer treatment in humans."
Peroxide bomb
The treatment works because a tumour cell is chemically different to a healthy
cell.
The vitamin C reacts with this chemical make-up, producing enough hydrogen
peroxide to kill the cell, while leaving healthy cells unscathed.
However, Dr Alison Ross, from Cancer Research UK said that much more work would
have to be done to see if vitamin C could be a viable treatment.
"This is encouraging work but it's at a very early stage because it involves
cells grown in the lab and mice.
"There is currently no evidence from clinical trials in humans that injecting
or consuming vitamin C is an effective way to treat cancer.
"Some research even suggests that high doses of antioxidants can make cancer
treatment less effective, reducing the benefits of radiotherapy and
chemotherapy."