dose vitamin C: Can it kill cancer cells?
Q: I have been reading about vitamin C as an alternative cancer treatment. What can you tell me about it? Cindy / Oklahoma The use of vitamin C in alternative cancer treatment isn’t new. Proponents claim that large doses of vitamin C are toxic to cancer cells. However, there is no reliable evidence to support this theory. Studies in the 1970s first suggested that large doses of supplemental vitamin C might be of some benefit in the treatment of cancer. But these studies were later found to have serious flaws. Subsequent well-designed, randomized, controlled trials of vitamin C and cancer found no such treatment benefit. More recently, intravenous (IV) vitamin C has been touted to have different effects than does vitamin C taken orally. This has sparked renewed interest in the use of IV vitamin C as a cancer therapy. However, there is still no evidence that vitamin C has any effect on cancer. Until clinical trials are completed, it’s premature to determine what role, if any, IV vitamin
