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Research: HEAD, Alternative Medi
Listed in Issue 40
Abstract
HEAD, Alternative Medicine Review. PO Box 25, Dover Idaho 83825 USA. kathi@thorne.com review (63 references) the proposed mechanisms of action for vitamin C (ascorbic acid, ascorbate) in the prevention and treatment of cancer .
Background
Methodology
Results
Proposed mechanisms of vitamin C for cancer treatment and prevention include immune system enhancement, stimulation of collagen formation for "walling off" tumours, inhibition of hyaluronidase to keep intact the ground substance around the tumour and prevent metastasis, prevention of oncogenic viruses, correction of ascorbate deficiency frequently observed in cancer patients, speeding up of wound healing following cancer surgery, enhancement of various chemotherapy drugs, reduction of toxicity of chemotherapeutic agents such as Adriamycin, prevention of damage from free radicals, and neutralisation of carcinogenic substances . Published studies from Scotland and Japan have reported the potential benefit of high dosages of vitamin C in the treatment of terminal cancer. Studies from the Mayo Clinic disputed those findings, resulting in acrimonious accusations of methodological flaws from both sides. Numerous epidemiological research studies have demonstrated the importance of dietary and supplemental vitamin C in the prevention of numerous cancers, including bladder, breast, cervical, colorectal, oesophageal, lung, pancreatic, prostate, salivary gland, stomach, leukaemia and non-Hodgkins lymphoma.
Conclusion
References
Head KA Ascorbic acid in the prevention and treatment of cancer Altern Med Rev 3(3): 174-86 Jun 1998.
Comment
It is always amazing to me how the arguments regarding vitamin Cs efficacy continue to rage, despite probably tens of thousands of studies demonstrating various levels of efficacy for cancer treatment and prevention, as enumerated by the author above. If any chemotherapeutic agents showed a fraction of the same kind of efficacy, it would be immediately hailed as an important breakthrough. Since Linus Paulings death, at least the battle has moved on from the original accusations of fraud and quackery which featured in the literature of the past 20 years. For those interested in the politics of cancer, I highly recommend the following reading: Vitamin C and Cancer: Medicine or Politics by Evelleen Richards Macmillan 1991; and The Politics of Cancer Revisited by Dr Samuel Epstein East Ridge Press 1998.
