Increased Dose of Vitamin C Can Boost Standard Cancer Treatments: Study

The multifarious health benefits of vitamins has been long known,  be it boosting you skin, combating flu and strengthening bones, nutritionists and health experts have forever counted Vitamin C as one of the most significant vitamins that work wonders in keeping infections at bay.However,a recent study gives another reason to take the vitamin seriously. According to the latest report published in Cancer cell suggests an increased vitamin C intake by the lung and brain cancer patients can bring about favourable outcomes in the standard cancer treatments.
On finding, that it was safe to infuse the patients with 800 to 1,000 times more than the advised amount of vitamin C, in the cancer patients as a probable tool to enhance the results of cancer treatments, researchers from University of Iowa, in their paper suggested high dose of vitamin C can be linked to cancer cell death. Stating how high dosage of vitamin C is not toxic to normal cells, they presented pathways in which the altered iron metabolism in the cancer cells, leads to an increased sensitivity to the cancer cell death. Co-author of the study Garry Buettner, in an adjoining press release was quoted saying, "a metabolic frailty in cancer cells that is based on their own production of oxidizing agents that allows us to utilize existing redox active compounds, like vitamin C, to sensitize cancer cells to radiation and chemotherapy."
Researchers further identified, the reaction between the tumour tissues increased levels of redox active iron molecules and vitamin C, which in turn forms hydrogen peroxide and the free radicals derived from hydrogen peroxide. It is these free radicals which are believed to be causing the selective DNA damage in the cancer cells. This reaction further leads to a greater number of cancer cell death and sensitization to the ongoing chemotherapy and radiation in cancer cells.