A new review published in the Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research describes how mounting evidence confirms that vitamin C has the potential to be a potent anti-cancer agent when administered intravenously in high doses. Authored by researchers from the Department of Medical Oncology at the University Medical Center in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, the paper notes that clinical trials have confirmed the safety and indicated the efficacy of intravenous vitamin C (IVC) in eradicating tumor cells of various types. Stating that the implementation of high-dose vitamin C may be a breakthrough in the treatment of cancer patients with poor prognosis and few available treatment options, the researchers conclude that further clinical examination of this promising and non-toxic treatment modality is not only warranted, but also highly needed.
The review analyzes pre-clinical and clinical studies using high-dose IVC as an anti-cancer agent. In doing so it points out that, unlike most other animals, humans are unable to synthesize vitamin C in their bodies and are therefore dependent on oral consumption of this crucial micronutrient. Acknowledging that the concept of utilizing vitamin C as a therapeutic agent for cancer care was first introduced by double Nobel Prize winning chemist Linus Pauling and physician Ewan Cameron almost 50 years ago, the researchers describe how high-dose IVC has re-emerged as a potent anti-cancer agent over the past two decades, with several clinical trials reporting high tolerability and safety with promising signs of efficacy.
Citing examples, the researchers say studies show high-dose vitamin C impairs both tumor growth and metastasis in a large number of different cancer types. Significantly, they add that a number of promising case reports have shown unexpectedly long survival time, with in some cases even complete tumor regression of advanced or metastatic disease occurring.
Cancer patients frequently deficient in vitamin C
Addressing the limited response effects observed in some trials, the researchers point out that, in general, high-dose vitamin C therapy has not been clinically assessed in patients that have not received heavy prior systemic treatment and that are not already terminally ill. As have many other researchers before them, they suggest this may explain the limited responses in such cases.
Nevertheless, the review also outlines how in palliative care, high-dose vitamin C is currently gaining ground due to its highly safe and tolerable profile. Not only are high doses known to relieve pain in cancer patients, the researchers say, but vast clinical evidence suggests they have a significant positive impact on patients’ well-being. The paper proposes this may be due to the frequent hypovitaminosis and vitamin C deficiency in cancer patients, which are commonly worsened by drug treatments.
From a Cellular Medicine perspective, however, arguably the most interesting of all the papers cited are a selection of pre-clinical studies in which vitamin C was given in combination with other non-pharmaceutical therapies. The researchers describe how several studies have reported a synergy of anti-cancer effects when vitamin K3 was combined with vitamin C. One study found that the combination of these two vitamins reduced tumor growth and tumor metastasis in Lewis lung carcinoma.
Living in changing times
As evidenced by an article published by the United States National Cancer Institute (NCI) in January 2020, it seems likely that the next stage in vitamin C’s long journey towards the cancer mainstream may involve coupling it with conventional treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation. In what will clearly be seen by the pharma industry as a major threat to its multibillion-dollar cancer drug business, the NCI article authors evaluated high-dose IVC therapy and concluded that “given the current high financial cost of new cancer drugs, it seems rational to improve the effectiveness of current therapies by studying their clinical interactions with vitamin C.” They predicted that “the implementation of this treatment paradigm could provide benefit to many cancer patients.”
Using high-dose vitamin C alongside conventional cancer treatments will ultimately only be a stepping-stone, however. Cutting-edge studies conducted at the Dr. Rath Research Institute have already demonstrated that combining vitamin C with a group of other specific micronutrients enables the blocking of all key mechanisms that make cancer a deadly disease. As described in the book ‘Victory Over Cancer’, authored by Dr. Rath and Dr. Aleksandra Niedzwiecki, this includes blocking the secretion of the collagen digesting enzymes produced by cancer cells, inhibiting the invasion and metastasis of cancer cells, blocking the growth of tumors and the formation of new blood vessels to feed them, and inducing the natural death of cancer cells. There is no single existing cancer drug or other conventional treatment that can effectively and safely achieve all of these things.
The Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research paper is a reminder that we are living in changing times. Slowly but surely, science-based nutritional and Cellular Medicine approaches are building a world in which cancer will become a manageable disease. It is now no longer a matter of whether this will happen, but when.
