Ovarian cancer patients see benefits from vitamin C

Todd Feeback — The Hale Center for Journalism

A study published in the journal Science Translational Medicine points to vitamin C’s ability to help kill cancer cells without harming normal tissues. Vitamin C, administered in high doses along with conventional chemotherapy drugs, can also reduce the toxic effects of chemotherapy. According to an article from KU Medical Center’s website, the clinical study used 27 patients with newly diagnosed Stage 3 or Stage 4 ovarian cancer.

Qi Chen, who holds a doctorate in biochemistry, is an assistant professor at KU Medical Center and is senior author of the study. She said that vitamin C was used in the 1970s as an “unorthodox therapy for cancer.” The use of vitamin C was abandoned by conventional oncologists after oral doses weren’t effective in two cancer clinical trials.

“Physicians practicing complementary and alternative medicine continued to use it, so we felt further study was in order,” Chen said.

For more on this research, read C.J. Janovy’s story on KU Medical Center website.

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