Vitamin C Linked to Dramatically Longer Survival in Randomized Cancer Trial

A randomized clinical trial has produced a striking finding suggesting that a simple daily vitamin C supplement may significantly improve survival in people with precancerous blood disorders and early-stage blood cancers. Of the 109 patients taking part, 55 were assigned to vitamin C and 54 to a placebo. After a median follow-up of almost three years, just 11 patients in the vitamin C group had died, compared with 24 in the placebo group.

Published in the American Cancer Society journal CANCER, the phase 2 EVITA (Epigenetics, Vitamin C, and Abnormal Hematopoiesis) trial involved patients in Denmark and the United States. Participants had either clonal cytopenia of undetermined significance (a precancerous blood disorder) or low-risk forms of blood cancer. They were randomly assigned to receive either 1,000 mg of oral vitamin C, in the form of ascorbic acid, or a placebo each day for 12 months.

More than half of the patients were deficient in vitamin C or had inadequate levels when the study began. Supplementation successfully restored vitamin C levels in those receiving the nutrient. Most strikingly, the analysis found that patients taking vitamin C had a 65 percent lower rate of death during the follow-up period than those receiving the placebo.

Serious adverse events were also substantially less common, occurring in 33 percent of patients receiving vitamin C compared with 57 percent in the placebo group. The trial’s findings are particularly noteworthy given the simplicity, low cost, and widespread availability of the nutrient involved.

An unexpected survival finding

The trial was primarily designed to investigate whether vitamin C could reduce the growth of genetically abnormal blood cells. On this measure, the researchers did not find a statistically significant benefit. In other words, the study did not achieve its prespecified primary endpoint.

Moreover, the survival analysis was exploratory and had not been included in the original study protocol. The relatively small number of patients means that larger clinical trials will ultimately be needed to determine whether the apparent survival advantage can be confirmed.

Nevertheless, what actually happened to the trial participants is difficult to ignore. Of the 55 patients assigned to vitamin C, 11 died during follow-up. Among the 54 originally assigned to placebo, there were 24 deaths. During the 12-month study treatment itself, two deaths occurred in the placebo group, both of which were disease related, while no deaths were reported in the vitamin C group.

The findings therefore raise an obvious question: even though vitamin C did not significantly affect the trial’s primary laboratory endpoint, why did patients receiving it apparently fare so much better clinically?

Vitamin C and the biology of blood cancer

There are sound biological reasons for investigating vitamin C in these disorders.

Vitamin C acts as an essential cofactor for a family of enzymes known as TET enzymes, which help regulate the activity of genes through what are termed epigenetic mechanisms – processes that control how genes are switched on and off. Abnormalities involving one of these enzymes, TET2, are frequently found in blood disorders and cancers involving genetically abnormal cells.

Laboratory and animal research has already suggested that vitamin C availability can influence TET activity and the behavior of abnormal blood-forming cells. The EVITA trial represents an important attempt to translate this knowledge into a randomized clinical study involving patients.

The finding that more than half of participants had deficient or inadequate levels of vitamin C when they entered the study is particularly significant as it demonstrates that, far from being a theoretical concern, inadequate vitamin C status was common in this patient population.

What might a broader nutritional approach achieve?

There is another important aspect of the study that deserves consideration: the researchers evaluated just one nutrient. Dr. Matthias Rath’s Cellular Medicine research has long emphasized that micronutrients do not perform their biological functions in isolation. Vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and other essential nutrients work together in complex biochemical teams. A deficiency of one component can easily affect biological processes that depend upon several others.

The fact that more than half of the EVITA participants were deficient in vitamin C or had inadequate levels therefore raises key questions regarding their wider nutritional status. Deficiencies or inadequate levels of vitamin D, B vitamins, selenium, zinc, and other essential micronutrients could potentially also have been present, for example.

However, the trial was not designed to assess whether identifying and correcting such deficiencies alongside vitamin C could produce additional benefits. Its findings only tell us what happened when one particular micronutrient was supplemented – not what might be achievable through a comprehensive micronutrient approach.

The dosage used in the study raises another important consideration. Patients received just 1,000 mg of oral vitamin C per day. While substantially higher than official recommended daily intakes, this is not an especially high dose compared with amounts that have been investigated in other areas of vitamin C research.

The researchers selected 1,000 mg because they expected this amount to achieve saturation of vitamin C levels in the blood, which it did. The EVITA trial therefore cannot tell us whether substantially higher doses, particularly those administered intravenously, might produce different or greater effects. Significantly, the researchers themselves acknowledge that intravenous administration may exert greater effects.

Future research should examine not only whether the survival finding can be reproduced in a larger population, but also whether different vitamin C doses and more comprehensive micronutrient approaches can improve outcomes still further.

A finding that demands further investigation

The EVITA results do not prove that taking vitamin C will prolong the lives of patients with precancerous blood disorders or early-stage blood cancers. The survival finding was exploratory, and confirmation in a substantially larger randomized trial is essential. But neither should the result be dismissed simply because the study’s primary endpoint was not achieved.

To summarize, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial has found that patients receiving an inexpensive, widely available vitamin experienced fewer serious adverse events and substantially better survival. These findings deserve serious scientific attention.

For more than two decades, the Dr. Rath Health Foundation has argued that greater priority should be given to investigating the role of micronutrients in maintaining cellular health and addressing chronic disease. The EVITA trial provides yet another compelling reason why such research should be taken seriously and expanded.

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Paul Anthony Taylor

Executive Director of the Dr. Rath Health Foundation and one of the coauthors of our explosive book, “The Nazi Roots of the ‘Brussels EU'”, Paul is also our expert on the Codex Alimentarius Commission and has had eye-witness experience, as an official observer delegate, at its meetings.

Prior to joining the Foundation, Paul's background was in the music industry, where he worked as a keyboard player and programmer with artists including Paul McCartney, Bryan Ferry, Bill Withers, the Verve, Texas, and Primal Scream.

He first became interested in natural health after falling ill with a chronic fatigue syndrome-related disorder in 1991 and subsequently making a full recovery through the use of natural health therapies. After meeting Dr. Rath and Dr. Niedzwiecki at an anti-Codex rally in Berlin in 2002, Paul was inspired to make a life-changing decision to leave the music industry to work for the Foundation and help defend the right of patients worldwide to have free access to natural health approaches.

You can find Paul on Twitter at @paulanthtaylor

Der Executive Director der Dr. Rath Health Foundation ist einer der Koautoren des explosiven Buchs „Die Nazi-Wurzeln der Brüsseler EU“. Paul ist auch unser Experte zum Thema „Codex Alimentarius-Kommission“ und hat Augenzeugenerfahrung als offizieller beobachtender Teilnehmer bei diesen Treffen.

Bevor er seine Arbeit bei der Stiftung antrat war Paul in der Musikindustrie aktiv. Er arbeitete als Keyboard-Spieler und Programmierer mit Künstlern wie Paul McCartney, Bryan Ferry, Bill Withers, the Verve, Texas und Primal Scream.

Sein Interesse an natürlicher Gesundheit wuchs, als er 1991 an Störungen erkrankte, die aus einem chronischen Erschöpfungssyndrom resultierten. Durch natürliche Gesundheitstherapien wurde er schließlich vollständig geheilt. Ein Treffen 2002 mit Dr. Rath und Dr. Niedzwiecki bei einer Anti-Codex-Demonstration in Berlin inspirierte ihn zu einer lebensverändernden Entscheidung und er verließ die Musikindustrie um für die Stiftung zu arbeiten und das Recht der Patienten zu verteidigen, weltweit freien Zugang zu natürlichen Gesundheitsverfahren zu haben.

Auf Twitter ist Paul unter @paulanthtaylor zu finden.

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