Vitamin C Infusions Effective Against Pancreatic Cancer
Pancreatic Cancer
14 pancreatic cancer studies and 50 years of use cases show that high dose IV vitamin C improves cancer cell kill rate and reduces toxicity from chemo/radiation therapy.
Generally, pancreatic cancer is curable when a tumor can be removed with clean margins before it spreads to other parts of the body. Studies prove high dose intravenous vitamin C (IVC) kills pancreatic cancer cells, and sensitizes cancer cells to chemo and radiation therapy improving their ability to kill pancreatic cancer. Using vitamin C infusions as a combination therapy can offer the best chance to shrink the pancreatic tumor size making surgery an option.
The following studies also show that IVC protects normal cells from the damaging effects of radiation and chemotherapy. This permits the use of more aggressive therapies, improves patient quality of life, and on average extends overall life (compared to standard treatment only).
Important Stats and Quotes From IV Vitamin C Studies
After completing an 8 week course of high dose IV vitamin C with standard treatment 89% of patients experienced primary tumor size decrease.
“Vitamin C Infusion Therapy reverses radiation-induced cell death in normal pancreas cells but radiosensitized a variety of human pancreatic cancer cell lines.”
Studies show an 80%+ improvement in overall survival for patients that received IV Vitamin C compared to those that only received chemoradiation treatment.
“IV Vitamin C with GFLIP can be exceptionally safe and well tolerated. IVC may help avoid standard 20-40% rates of severe toxicities.”
Locally advanced pancreatic cancer patients that failed chemo treatment became eligible for the Whipple procedure after success using IVC with Chemoradiation therapy. This includes a patient who had metastatic disease on Stage III and had failed FOLFIRINOX.
“Pharmacological ascorbate (vitamin C) induced cell death in pancreatic cancer cells with diverse mutational backgrounds.”
5 Clinical studies that prove high dose IV vitamin C is effective against pancreatic cancer.
Clinical Study 1: Stage II and III Pancreatic Cancer Treatment
The University of Iowa completed a Phase I clinical trial that included 16 patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer. High dose intravenous vitamin C (IVC) was administered with fractionated radiotherapy and gemcitabine. The combination of IVC with chemoradiation was more effective at killing cancer cells then chemoradiation delivered alone. IVC also made the chemoradiation less toxic to normal cells. Two patients became eligible for surgery following the treatment:
The first patient initially completed FOLFIRINOX treatment, but still experienced disease progression. After completing the treatment with IVC and chemoradiation, imaging showed the tumor shrank to a size suitable for surgery. Post treatment and surgery, tests showed 17 lymph nodes negative for disease. As of reporting of the study, the patient was still alive 44 months after diagnosis and showed no evidence of recurrence.
The second patient initially underwent 2 cycles of FOLFIRINOX and 3 cycles of gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel. Scans showed a stable disease. After completing the treatment with IVC and chemoradiation, imaging showed the cancer regressed to a point that surgery could be performed. A pancreaticoduodenectomy was performed, after which no residual cancer remained. As of reporting of the study, the patient was still alive 35 months after diagnosis and showed no evidence of recurrence.
In fact, at the time the article was published 5 of the 14 patients remained alive. The treatment produced a median overall survival of 21.7 months (compared to their 12.7 month historical median). Additionally, the authors state that IVC offers “protection from radiation damage in normal surrounding tissue, making it an optimal agent for potentially improving locally advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma.”.
Clinical Study 2: Stage III and IV Pancreatic Cancer Treatment
The University of Kansas completed a Phase I and II clinical trial that included 12 patients with locally advanced and metastatic pancreatic cancer. The patients received IVC 3 times weekly in conjunction with gemcitabine. Notably, one patient had remarkable tumor response to the treatment that enabled surgery:
The patient came into the study with Stage III pancreatic ductal carcinoma that was progressing, previously they tried FOLFIRINOX treatment but it was considered a failure. The patient was not eligible for surgery because the cancer was too advanced. After enrollment in the trial, the participant received a total of 70 doses of IVC and 9 cycles of gemcitabine. Imaging showed tumor stabilization/shrinkage and improvement in appearance of margins which became more distinct. The patient was then determined suitable for surgical resection.
For this group, median overall survival was 15.1 months, this is more than twice as much as what gemcitabine alone provided in a phase III trial. Furthermore, significantly few adverse events from toxicity were observed (no severe events attributable to IVC), building more evidence that IVC improves quality of life.
Clinical Study 3: Stage IV Pancreatic Cancer Treatment (IVC, Gemcitabine, and Erlotinib)
The final Phase I study also included a group of stage IV patients. They received 3 IVC infusions per week alongside gemcitabine and erlotinib standard treatment. The study reported that despite the advanced metastatic cancer conditions, the therapy reduced tumor size for 89% of patients that completed the study. The treatment was well tolerated and lead to a follow on Phase II trial where IVC will be administered for a longer duration.
Clinical Study 4: Stage IV Pancreatic Cancer Treatment (IVC & Gemcitabine)
Another Phase I study conducted by the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine included stage IV pancreatic cancer patients receiving IVC twice per week with Gemcitabine. Compared to historical data from using gemcitabine alone, researchers observed less adverse events from chemo toxicity with significantly longer progression free survival and overall survival. The results prompted a subsequent Phase II study.
Clinical Study 5: Stage IV Pancreatic Cancer Treatment (IVC & GFLIP)
The third clinical trial was a Phase II randomized study that examined the effects of combining IVC with the chemo regiment GFLIP (it includes gemcitabine, fluorouracil, leucovorin, irinotecan, oxaliplatin). The researchers reported that IVC “may avoid standard 20-40% rates of severe toxicities” that are incurred when using only chemotherapy. Also, they stated that including IVC in the therapy regimens can “benefit quality of life and improve survival for many with a broad spectrum of cancers”.
National Cancer Institute sponsors more studies on IVC
Presently there are 5 ongoing clinical trials researching high dose intravenous Vitamin C for pancreatic cancer. Sponsors and research organizations include the National Institute of Health (NIH), the National Cancer Institute (NCI), University of Iowa, and Cornell University. Patients will be given IVC with chemotherapy, or both chemo and radiation with IVC.
Pre-Clinical studies demonstrate how vitamin C kills pancreatic cancer cells
Pre-Clinical 1
The first study researches combining vitamin C (VitC) with radiochemotherapy (radiation and chemotherapy). The chemo drug Gemcitabine was used. The researchers showed that radiochemotherapy is more effective when VitC is administered.
VitC increased oxidative stress on the pancreatic cancer cells by generating high steady states of H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide). This anti-cancer mechanism damages the cancer DNA, thereby increasing radiation-induced double-stranded DNA breaks in the cancer cells, leading to cell death. Meanwhile, VitC was shown to reduce DNA damage to normal cells from the radiation therapy.
Pre-Clinical 2
The University of Kansas Medical Center showed high doses of VitC can deliver pancreatic cancer killing capabilities superior to gemcitabine alone. Again, the oxidative stress was the observed anti-cancer mechanism. In addition to reporting on the damage brought on by H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide), they noted VitC caused NAD+ depletion selectively in cancer cells, which leads to an energy crisis and cell death.
Pre-Clinical 3
The study from the University of Torino shows IVC in combination with immune checkpoint therapy (ICT) can delay cancer growth and “can be curative in models of mismatch repair-deficient tumors with high mutational burden”. They recommended clinical trials take place to further observe the effects of IVC with ICT.
Pre-Clinical 4
The last study observed VitC combined with radiotherapy was more potent at killing pancreatic cancer cells than radiotherapy alone.
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