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IV Vitamin C May Boost Chemo’s Cancer-Fighting Power

IV Vitamin C May Boost Chemo’s Cancer-Fighting Power

As reported in Web MD this year, laboratory research involving human cells and mice has shown that large doses of intravenous vitamin C have the potential to boost chemotherapy’s ability to kill cancer cells. According to study co-author Dr. Jeanne Drisko, director of Integrative Medicine at the University of Kansas Medical Center, when they infused Vitamin C directly into ovarian cancer cells from both humans and mice, it appeared to help kill cancer cells while at the same time leaving normal cells unharmed. In terms of the utility to help cancer patients who receive chemotherapy she says, “In cell tissue and animal models of cancer, we saw when you add IV Vitamin C to the treatment it seems to augment the killing effect of chemotherapy drugs on cancer cells”.
In research published by Dr Drisco in the scientific journal of Science Translational Medicine patients diagnosed with cervical cancer, were given intravenous vitamin C as well as chemotherapy. These patients were found to have less toxic side effects from their chemotherapy treatment. “In those patients, we didn’t see any ill effects and we noticed they had fewer effects from the chemotherapy,” Drisko said. “It seemed to be protecting the healthy cells while killing the cancer cells.”
Since the 1970s Intravenous vitamin C has been of interest to Doctors in Integrative Medical such as Dr. Drisco. But vitamin C’s cancer-killing potential hasn’t been taken seriously by mainstream medicine, since studies done over 30 years ago with oral vitamin C showed no benefit in cancer patients. Doctors and researchers argue that those studies are invalid as they used vitamin C in relatively small doses which taken orally cannot compare to the levels that are reached in the bloodstream when Vitamin C is used intravenously.
As reported in Web MD, Stephanie Bernik M.D. who is the chief of surgical oncology at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York commented,”You have to do a bigger study with patients and look at outcomes… It just needs to be proven.”
Although Dr Drisco of U. of Kansas agrees that larger studies need to be conducted, she believes that doctors should not wait to put this into practice.”It’s safe. It’s inexpensive. There’s a plausible mechanism we’re investigating for why it works,” she said. “We should be using this in patients, rather than dragging our feet.”

 

For the best in Integrative Medicine call Henry C. Sobo, M.D., at 203-348-8805 or write us at [email protected]

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