Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid) is a water-soluble molecule that performs numerous coenzymatic functions of hydroxylation; of all its metabolic characteristics, vitamin C seems to effectively fight the spread of free radicals, thanks to a very important antioxidant action.
Cancer Prevention
The fight against free radicals and the reduction of molecular oxidation contribute to determining the antitumor characteristics of vitamin C. In particular, ascorbic acid seems to effectively counteract the harmful action of hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ), favoring the cell conservation and reducing the likelihood of neoplastic transformation.
It seems that the immunostimulatory function of vitamin C also contributes to the prevention of some forms of tumors; several studies have shown that in many cases the primary etiological agent of the neoplastic mutation is the viral infection by some pathogens called "transforming viruses". Moreover, given that many forms of cancer are subject to ulceration, increasing the risk of bacterial contamination, it is advisable to administer vitamin C pharmacologically by virtue of its broad-spectrum antibiotic function.
Cancer Treatment
In some experimental ones dating back to the mid-twentieth century, vitamin C proved to be effective in the treatment of bladder tumors; unfortunately, the outcome of the study was thwarted due to some methodological and application inadequacies. In a nutshell, the research sample has shown significant improvements following the administration of vitamin C ASSOCIATED to conventional drug therapy, but the impossibility of establishing its real INDEPENDENT efficacy from other therapies has totally discredited the reliability of the results.
Subsequently, in 1970, Linus Pauling and his colleagues administered high doses of vitamin C (10 grams per day intravenously, followed by at least 10 grams orally) to terminally ill cancer patients; finally, this therapy has proved useful for increasing survival time and improving quality of life.
Pharmacological administration of vitamin C appears to have a beneficial effect on tumor regression, but the results are different between the different types of tumors, the stage and the research sample.
It is appropriate to continue to investigate the mechanisms that favor the anti-tumor therapy of vitamin C, but also to ensure that intravenous administration of ascorbic acid does not negatively affect the functionality of other vital organs.
Bibbliografia:
- The complete book of vitamins - G. Noferi L. Draghi - Demetra - chap.87 - pag. 328: 337
- ID Podmore, HR Griffiths, KE Herbert, N. Mistry, P. Mistry and J. Lunec (9 April 1998) - Vitamin C exhibits pro-oxidant properties - Nature 392 (6676) - DOI: 10.1038 / 33308. PMID 9560150.
- Q. Chen, MG Espey, MC Krishna, JB Mitchell, CP Corpe, GR Buettner, E. Shacter, M. Levine - Pharmacologic ascorbic acid concentrations selectively killed cancer cells: action as a pro-drug to deliver hydrogen peroxide to tissues - Molecular and Clinical Nutrition Section, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
- E. Cameron, L. Pauling - Cancer and Vitamin C: A Discussion of Nature, Causes, Prevention, and Treatment of Cancer with Special Reference to the Value of Vitamin C (Camino Books) - ISBN 0 -940159-21-X.
