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| virus. It is possible that vitamin C has an effect on virus production in infected cells and also extracellularly. |
| A review of seventy-five epidemiological studies showed significant evidence of reduced risk for cancer in those with a higher dietary intake of vitamin C. There may be other factors involved, since this was a dietary study and many other nutrients were involved. Vitamin C has also been shown to inhibit the development of estrogen-induced kidney tumors in hamsters. Large doses of vitamin C reduced the severity and incidence of mammary tumors in RIII mice and ultraviolet light-induced skin tumors in hairless mice. Isomers and metabolites of vitamin C may also have therapeutic benefit in different cancer sites in experimental models. 23 |
| Vitamin C ascorbate, in conjunction with other nutrients such as zinc, vitamin B 12, and other cancer-inhibiting agents, has a synergistic antitumor effect. Vitamin C enhances traditional cancer therapies and reduces their toxicity. Adriamycin and radiation toxicity were reduced in animal models receiving vitamin C. The amount needed to prevent deficiency may not be the optimal amount. Ascorbate's superior activity against peroxyl radicals in human plasma marrow, but not tumor tissues, protects the skin and bones from the effects of radiation treatments.24,25 |
| Even though scurvy is rare in the United States, marginal vitamin C deficiency may be common. At-risk populations are smokers, those with chronic problems, including cancer and dialysis, those eating marginal diets (especially the elderly and indigent), and those who abuse alcohol and drugs. Within the next decade, optimal vitamin C levels should be known. |
| Vitamin C does not kill cancer cells but restrains them. The hypothesis is that cancer cells release enzymes, such as hyaluronidase and collagenase, that modify the properties of the ground substance (the intracellular cement in which all cells are embedded), allowing the malignant cells to penetrate and invade the surrounding tissues. Vitamin C, along with flavonoids, acts to strengthen the ground substance and to restrain the invasiveness of cancer cells by neutralizing hyaluronidase and enhancing the synthesis of collagen fibrils. In addition, vitamin C plays a role in the stimulation and modification of the immune system. |
| I believe that vitamin C is overrated as an anticancer agent. In a few studies involving some leukemia cell lines, high amounts of vitamin C appeared to cause |
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