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Vitamin C keeps
cancer at bay,
High-dose
vitamin C can boost the cancer-killing effect of chemotherapy in the lab and
mice, research suggests. Given by
injection, it could potentially be a safe, effective and low-cost treatment for
ovarian and other cancers, say US scientists. Reporting
in Science Translational Medicine, they call for large-scale government
clinical trials. Pharmaceutical companies are unlikely to run trials, as
vitamins cannot be patented. Vitamin C has long been used as an alternative
therapy for cancer. In the
1970s, chemist Linus Pauling reported that vitamin C given intravenously was
effective in treating cancer. However,
clinical trials of vitamin C given by mouth failed to replicate the effect, and
research was abandoned. It is now known that the human body quickly excretes
vitamin C when it is taken by mouth. However, scientists at the They
found ovarian cancer cells were sensitive to vitamin C treatment, but normal
cells were unharmed. The treatment worked in tandem with standard chemotherapy
drugs to slow tumour growth in mouse studies. Meanwhile, a small group
of patients reported fewer side-effects when given vitamin C alongside
chemotherapy. No patent potential. Co-researcher
Dr Jeanne Drisko said there was growing interest in the use of vitamin C by
oncologists. "Patients are looking for safe and low-cost choices in their
management of cancer," she told BBC News. "Intravenous vitamin C has
that potential based on our basic science research and early clinical
data." One potential hurdle is that pharmaceutical companies are unlikely
to fund trials of intravenous vitamin C because there is no ability to patent
natural products. "Because
vitamin C has no patent potential, its development will not be supported by
pharmaceutical companies," said lead researcher Qi Chen. "We believe that the time
has arrived for research agencies to vigorously support thoughtful and
meticulous clinical trials with intravenous vitamin C." Dr Kat Arney,
science communications manager for Cancer Research "Any
potential treatment for cancer needs to be thoroughly evaluated in large
clinical trials to make sure it's safe and effective, so further studies are
needed before we know for sure what benefits high dose vitamin C may have for
patients."
Source BBC News | |
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