'Vitamin C keeps cancer at bay, US research suggests.'

Some of you may be interested in the findings from a recent small-scale study in to the effects of high-dose vitamin C injections for the treatment of cancer:

BBC news - full article

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 University of Kansas say that when given by injection vitamin C is absorbed into the body, and can kill cancer cells without harming normal ones.

The researchers injected vitamin C into human ovarian cancer cells in the lab, into mice, and into patients with advanced ovarian cancer.
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.

However there are concerns amongst some that research maybe hindered, as Vitamin C cannot be patented.

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.

An interesting study, and one I will be trying to keep up to date with.

reply to post by beansidhe


If Big Pharma won't do the testing because of their greed for emptying the pockets of Judy and Joe Six-pack, why doesn't some government agency fund the studies of the health benefits of "vitamin C" (ascorbic acid).

On most Vitamin C threads I get around to mentioning, because actually few people know it when imnho it should be shouted from rooftops at regular intervals, that human's lack of vitamin C is a major genetic disease.

All other lifeforms except for primates and guinea pigs are making ascorbic acid in their cells every moment. It comes with the machinery. But in primates and guinea pigs the machinery broke - a genetic disease - and although the cell tries to make it every moment one of the steps can't be completed. So we need to use supplements (see all the Vitamin C threads on the site).

As for this use, is the medical profession afraid to prove Linus Pauling right? Of course it is. Thieves and crooks, in it for the money and not for the medicine.

reply to post by Aleister


Hi Aleister

As for this use, is the medical profession afraid to prove Linus Pauling right? Of course it is. Thieves and crooks, in it for the money and not for the medicine.

I absolutely agree with you on this one. And didn't we used to know that? That fruit and veg were good for us? I do wish we would start listening to old tales and 'silly' folklore, because it seems they knew what they were talking about.

B x

Just a note, this study found Vitamin C enhanced the effect of chemotherapy, not that Vitamin C was good alone.

It doesn't mean it isn't, but that's not what this study says.

reply to post by Aleister

On most Vitamin C threads I get around to mentioning, because actually few people know it when imnho it should be shouted from rooftops at regular intervals, that human's lack of vitamin C is a major genetic disease.

Aparently it depends on where you live, cause 30 years ago when i was in school, it was part of our education to learn about the varius vitamins and their benefits to the body, that inc. vitamin C.

Anyway, as you say i can't see why it couldn't be researched by privat or government funded companies, i wouldn't mind throwing some money in the research, i lost both my mom and dad to Cancer.

reply to post by beansidhe


It should usually be a good thing if technological advancements and discoveries lead to lower profits in terms of percentage of US G.D.P. via healthcare. Unless we just charge up the arse for simple things lol.

The Earth is rife with natural remedies or at least aid.

reply to post by beansidhe


Thanks. Even eating fruit doesn't really do the trick. From a few oranges we can only get enough Vitamin C to assure that we don't get scurvy. Many people on ATS advocate liquid C. I haven't gone that route yet, but take at least three or four grams a day (separated, a gram every four or five hours). But the c for c treatment you'll talking about, with the intravenous use of ascorbic acid, should certainly be tested on masses of people by a reputable government (even a local government if they can swing it) if the pharma industry won't do the tests.

reply to post by beansidhe


I have a friend who has been through 2 battles with Lymphoma that he has beaten down each time with chemo and vitamin C injections. He is in very good condition after 15 years of this.

reply to post by OccamsRazor04


Thanks OccamsRazor, I'll highlight that in the OP, for clarity

reply to post by Gibbon


I'm really glad to hear that, Gibbon, wishing him loads of luck that he stays healthy for many, many more years.

Broccoli is one of best Vitamin C sources. 156 grams (1 cup) has 134,9% of recommended daily value.

Best Vitamin source is Rosehip: 100 grams of Rosehip has 710% of recommended daily value of C vitamin. It has 60 times more C vitamin than Citrus fruits.

I take a healthy dose of Vit C every day, when i run out and forget to get more for a few days i can actually feel the difference.

I think Vit C is good for a long list of good things, if it helps keep cancer at bay too, well then i will just add that to the list

Before folks go of on the usual suppression rants. On the other side of the coin is the research that show that anti-oxidants (such as vitamin C and E) can promote cancer growth. The reason being that the anti oxidants de-activate a gene p53 whose job it is to destroy cells with defective genes ie cancer cells.

Thebel
Broccoli is one of best Vitamin C sources. 156 grams (1 cup) has 134,9% of recommended daily value.

Best Vitamin source is Rosehip: 100 grams of Rosehip has 710% of recommended daily value of C vitamin. It has 60 times more C vitamin than Citrus fruits.

EEK. No, the RDV in the U.S. is dictated by the citrus industry, and is so low all it does is keep scurvy away (but not by much). The recommended daily amount in the U.S. is not only a joke, but is the punch line (hitting you in the gut). Our bodies inability to make ascorbic acid (nicknamed 'vitamin c'), a huge genetic disease that all humans and other primates have (except for lemurs), can only be nudged half an inch away with the criminally low recommended daily value.

yorkshirelad
Before folks go of on the usual suppression rants. On the other side of the coin is the research that show that anti-oxidants (such as vitamin C and E) can promote cancer growth. The reason being that the anti oxidants de-activate a gene p53 whose job it is to destroy cells with defective genes ie cancer cells.

Maybe with E, but I think this is incorrect regarding C, as that would be counter-intuitive. Please list sources on this one. Thanks.

reply to post by yorkshirelad


Hi Yorkshirelad

So it may be that a lot more research needs to be carried out to evaluate the pros and cons for this treatment. That sounds reasonable.
But one of those reasons should certainly not be the impact on the profits for pharmaceutical companies, in my opinion.

Aleister

Thebel
Broccoli is one of best Vitamin C sources. 156 grams (1 cup) has 134,9% of recommended daily value.

Best Vitamin source is Rosehip: 100 grams of Rosehip has 710% of recommended daily value of C vitamin. It has 60 times more C vitamin than Citrus fruits.

EEK. No, the RDV in the U.S. is dictated by the citrus industry, and is so low all it does is keep scurvy away (but not by much). The recommended daily amount in the U.S. is not only a joke, but is the punch line (hitting you in the gut). Our bodies inability to make ascorbic acid (nicknamed 'vitamin c'), a huge genetic disease that all humans and other primates have (except for lemurs), can only be nudged half an inch away with the criminally low recommended daily value.

It's not a disease, we just lost the ability to eat it as we gained so much from the vegetation we ate making it wasn't necessary. Since everyone lost the ability to manufacture it, it must have been a metabloically wasteful process to have been ditched like that.

Antigod

Aleister

Thebel
Broccoli is one of best Vitamin C sources. 156 grams (1 cup) has 134,9% of recommended daily value.

Best Vitamin source is Rosehip: 100 grams of Rosehip has 710% of recommended daily value of C vitamin. It has 60 times more C vitamin than Citrus fruits.

EEK. No, the RDV in the U.S. is dictated by the citrus industry, and is so low all it does is keep scurvy away (but not by much). The recommended daily amount in the U.S. is not only a joke, but is the punch line (hitting you in the gut). Our bodies inability to make ascorbic acid (nicknamed 'vitamin c'), a huge genetic disease that all humans and other primates have (except for lemurs), can only be nudged half an inch away with the criminally low recommended daily value.

It's not a disease, we just lost the ability to eat it as we gained so much from the vegetation we ate making it wasn't necessary. Since everyone lost the ability to manufacture it, it must have been a metabloically wasteful process to have been ditched like that.

What???? No, the process broke, our body is attempting to make it every second, in each of our cells. It's a major genetic disease.

All other animals, insects, plants, birds, everything except for primates and guinea pigs (and a bat or two) produce it in the cells every moment. It's part of the blueprint of life.

Denying some ignorance here, which is what teachers and public officials should be doing for their populace.

reply to post by beansidhe


Well they do say how an apple a day can keep illness at bay!

Maybe Eve was on to something when she choried that apple from the tree of life?

Considering apples are a great source of Vitamin C! LoL

reply to post by yorkshirelad

If this is true then does that mean just about everybody will have a deactivated P53 gene, as everybody takes vit C & E through their daily diet?