VITAMIN C CAN BEAT CANCER

High dose attacks tumours

VITAMIN C could help cure cancer.

Doses up to 1,000 times higher than usual target tumour cells, a study found.

The tumours are then made easier to treat using radiation or chemotherapy.

And side-effects are minimal – a dry mouth and more frequent

bathroom trips. Vitamin C, found naturally in fruit and vegetables, is absorbed by cells where it breaks down into hydrogen peroxide, which is capable of damaging body tissue.

The US researchers injected very large amounts of Vitamin C directly into the blood stream of brain cancer sufferers.

The 11 patients were given three high dose infusions each week for two months followed by a further two per week for seven months.

Subsequent tests showed that iron in their tumours reacted with the vitamin to form highly reactive and destructive hydrogen peroxide molecules.

The hydrogen peroxide caused selective DNA damage to cancerous cells while leaving healthy cells unharmed, they claim.

The cancer cells then died off at a greater rate or became more sensitive to radiation treatment and chemotherapy drugs.

The results, published in the journal Cancer Cell, appear to demonstrate that Vitamin C is a safe and effective form of treatment.

Dr Garry Buettner, from the University of Iowa where the research was carried out, said: “This paper reveals a metabolic frailty in cancer cells that allows us to utilise existing compounds like Vitamin C to sensitise cancer cells to radiation and chemotherapy.”

Dr Garry Buettner explained: “We demonstrate that cancer cells are much less efficient in removing hydrogen peroxide than normal cells.

“Thus, cancer cells are much more prone to damage and death from a high amount of hydrogen peroxide.”

Cancer experts in the UK say more research is needed.

Anna Perman, Cancer Research UK’s senior science information manager, warned: “Some doctors think that antioxidants like Vitamin C might interfere with chemotherapy which we know can be effective treatment.”

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But despite reservations, the new safety study sets the stage for larger trials investigating whether high-dose Vitamin C injections can extend the life span of cancer patients.

Half of all Britons born after 1960 will be diagnosed with some form of cancer during their lifetime.

Experts say four in 10 cancer cases are linked to lifestyle factors.

Smoking remains the largest single preventable cause.

More than half of cancer deaths in the UK are of people aged 75 years and over.