The Result of Vitamin C Treatment of Patients with Cancer: Conditions Influencing the Effectiveness.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review synthesizing 20 selected publications without a formal systematic review protocol.
PubMed 35457200 · doi:10.3390/ijms23084380
What was done
The authors reviewed literature on high-dose intravenous ascorbic acid therapy in cancer, analyzing 20 publications identified from four prior review articles and the National Cancer Institute Cancer Information Summary.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical data, effect sizes, or patient sample sizes. It notes that preclinical in vitro and animal models demonstrate cytotoxic pro-oxidant effects on hypoxic cells via Warburg metabolism and hydrogen peroxide production, but current clinical evidence in human cancer patients remains ambiguous.
Why it matters
This review highlights the mechanistic rationale and current clinical uncertainty surrounding high-dose intravenous vitamin C in oncology.
Limits
The abstract provides no quantitative clinical outcome data, statistical synthesis, or patient characteristics. The paper is a narrative overview relying on previously published secondary sources rather than a primary trial or systematic meta-analysis.
Cited by
- supports Intravenous high-dose vitamin C acts as a pro-oxidant that generates hydrogen peroxide in blood and tissue to selectively kill cancer cells.