{"id":2493,"date":"2018-11-20T10:04:13","date_gmt":"2018-11-20T15:04:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nlw2011.wpengine.com\/?p=2493"},"modified":"2018-11-20T10:04:13","modified_gmt":"2018-11-20T15:04:13","slug":"grant-will-fund-cancer-clinical-trials-to-test-high-dose-vitamin-c","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newleafcenters.com\/blog\/grant-will-fund-cancer-clinical-trials-to-test-high-dose-vitamin-c\/","title":{"rendered":"Grant Will Fund Cancer Clinical Trials to Test High-Dose Vitamin C"},"content":{"rendered":"

Original Article:<\/strong> https:\/\/medicine.uiowa.edu\/content\/grant-will-fund-cancer-clinical-trials-test-high-dose-vitamin-c<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Posted on:<\/strong> Monday, November 19, 2018<\/em><\/p>\n

Cancer researchers at University of Iowa Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center have received a five-year, $9.7 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to test the use of high-dose, intravenous (IV) vitamin C in the treatment of cancer.<\/p>\n

The integrated project,\u00a0led by\u00a0Joseph Cullen, MD<\/a>, UI professor of surgery, and\u00a0Douglas Spitz, PhD<\/a>, UI professor of radiation oncology,\u00a0is designed to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of adding high-dose IV vitamin C to standard cancer treatments for three of the deadliest cancers affecting the U.S. population: pancreatic cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, and glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), an aggressive type of brain cancer.<\/p>\n

\u201cSuccess in this project would suggest that adding high-dose IV vitamin C to cancer treatment protocols could be a safe, simple, and cost-effective approach to improving treatment for many kinds of cancer,\u201d Cullen says. \u201cIf the results from our early- and mid-phase clinical trials are positive, the next step would be to test this therapy in large, stage 3 clinical trials that could lead to approval of this approach and\u00a0have a powerful and lasting impact on clinical cancer care in the coming years.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The UI team has persevered for many years to bring high-dose, IV vitamin C therapy to patient trials. They have often faced resistance and skepticism due to vitamin C\u2019s controversial and mixed history as a cancer therapy. The biggest stumbling block has been the underappreciated fact that vitamin C consumed by mouth and vitamin C delivered intravenously lead to vastly different levels of vitamin C in the blood. That difference\u2014a tiny amount from oral consumption compared to very high levels from IV\u2014completely alters how the substance acts on cancer cells.<\/p>\n

Starting with experiments on cancer cells in petri dishes and then in animals, UI researchers have shown that high-dose vitamin C is\u00a0selectively toxic to cancer cells while being relatively non-toxic to normal cells.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Their studies show that this is due to\u00a0biological glitches in cancer cells that cause them to selectively generate hydrogen peroxide from the high levels of vitamin C (relative to normal cells). Hydrogen peroxide is generally toxic to cancer cells and also makes the cancer cells more sensitive to radiation and chemotherapy.\u00a0Recent results from clinical trials done by the UI program, as well as others, have shown that combining high-dose IV vitamin C with standard radio-chemotherapy is safe and well-tolerated by patients. These early stage trials also produced encouraging efficacy outcomes, and even suggested that adding vitamin C to the standard cancer therapies reduces the damage to normal tissue through its antioxidant function.<\/p>\n

How the grant will be used<\/h3>\n

The new grant will support three clinical projects:<\/p>\n