Clinical Evidence Proves High Dose IV Vitamin C Kills Cancer
Watch this video to review the clinical evidence that shows high dose intravenous vitamin C can be an effective weapon in the fight against cancer.
Continue on to the article below if you would rather read than watch a video.
High dose intravenous vitamin C could be the most underutilized complementary cancer treatment, but could also be the most studied. In this article we will look at the latest information from IVC clinical trials. Before we end, I will detail 4 clinical trials that show this treatment can’t be ignored.
Professor of Cancer Cell Biology at Harvard Medical School excited about IVC trial results.
Dr. Lewis Cantley, Director of Cancer Biology at Harvard Medical School
As of 2023, 71 preclinical and 34 clinical trials were completed that researched using high dose intravenous vitamin C as a cancer treatment. Dr. Lewis Cantley, the former Director of the Cornell Cancer Center and current Harvard Medical School professor, did a great job summing up the research in an article he co-authored for the National Cancer Institute.
In that article Dr. Cantley said “Virtually all studies show improved quality of life for cancer patients by minimizing pain and protecting normal tissues from toxicity caused by chemotherapy. Additionally, vitamin C showed synergistic effects when combined with radiation and standard chemotherapies.”.
National Cancer Institute invests $10 Million into IVC research.
These studies have been producing tremendous results, this has encouraged the National Cancer Institute to increase their investment in this treatment. In the last few years NCI has provided a $10 Million grant to the University of Iowa Holden Cancer Center to fund several phase 2 trials using IVC, and they also support research efforts from other top cancer centers like the Mayo Clinic.
IVC showing amazing results.
When you lay out the data from the 71 pre-clinical trials, the facts show that a positive result was achieved 92% of the time. IVC was synergistic or enhanced effectiveness of chemo drugs like carboplatin, chlorambucil, 5-FU, gemcitabine, temozolomide as well as synergy with immunotherapy treatments. Additionally high dose IVC has been shown to have radio-sensitizing effect on cancer cells while protecting healthy cells.
Four Clinical examples of using high dose vitamin C to treat cancer.
These positive results have carried over to clinical trials that include patients with a variety of cancer types. I will cover four examples of great results from this promising treatment, but for those that want to read more we also included links to the studies in the description.
Example 1: IVC improves survival for advanced cancer patients
The first example is a Phase I clinical trial that included advanced pancreatic cancer patients. IVC was administered with fractionated radiotherapy and gemcitabine; the combination was potent. Including IVC in the cancer therapy delivered an overall median survival rate that doubled historical median rates of the same treatment without IVC.
Furthermore, following treatment with IVC, two patients' tumors shrank enough to become eligible for surgery to remove the tumor. The authors stated that IVC offers “protection from radiation damage in normal surrounding tissue, making it an optimal agent for potentially improving locally advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma.”. The researchers proceeded to a phase II trial.
Example 2: IVC helps decrease tumor size for 88% of metastatic cancer patients.
Our next example is a phase I trial that included stage IV pancreatic cancer patients receiving IVC, gemcitabine, and erlotinib. After 8 weeks of treatment, 88% of the patients experienced a decrease in primary tumor size. The researchers noted these are incredible results that are superior to “gemcitabine alone or gemcitabine plus erlotinib”.
Example 3: High dose vitamin C improves disease control rate for stage III and IV cancer.
The third example is for an ongoing phase II clinical trial that includes stage IIIB and IV non-small cell lung cancer patients receiving IVC, paclitaxel, and carboplatin. The published evidence shows that IVC massively improves the disease control rate to 93%; historically paclitaxel and carboplatin without IVC delivered only 40% disease control rate.
The authors summarize their findings by stating “we demonstrate that pharmacological ascorbate (vitamin C) represents an easily implementable and non-toxic agent that may increase treatment efficacy when combined with standard-of-care radio-chemotherapy in NSCLC”.
Example 4: High dose intravenous vitamin C reduces toxicity from chemotherapy
The final example is a Phase I/IIa randomized clinical trial that compared results of a group of patients with ovarian cancer that were given high dose vitamin C with carboplatin and paclitaxel, vs a group only administered carboplatin and paclitaxel.
The results showed that the group receiving IVC had longer progression free survival , overall survival, and experienced substantially decreased toxicities from the chemo. The researchers noted IVC has “an outst anding safety profile”, is capable of “killing cancer cells without harming normal tissues” and proved to “enhance chemosensitivity of ovarian cancer and reduce toxicity of chemotherapy”.
IVC, alternative or complementary cancer treatment?
For many years high dose IV vitamin C has been labeled an “alternative” cancer treatment, but studies completed in the last decade are proving IVC can belong in the “standard treatment” toolkit. Major cancer centers like Johns Hopkins, Mayo Clinic, Sloan Kettering, and Holden Cancer Center are presently conducting studies to make even more progress.
For those interested in pursuing this treatment, you can schedule a no cost consultation by selecting the button below.
Medical Advice Disclaimer:The information, including but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material contained on this website are for information purposes only and was based on the latest research accessible to the author at the time of publication. No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new healthcare regiment, and never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website.
How does IVC actually kill cancer cells?
Learn about high dose vitamin C’s “mechanism of action” (how it works).
