Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) has been studied as a treatment for patients with cancer since the 1970s. A Scottish surgeon named Ewan Cameron worked with Nobel Prize-winning chemist Linus Pauling to study the possible benefits of vitamin C therapy in clinical trials of cancer patients in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It helped with negative side effects of cancer treatments, such as nausea, pain, and fatigue and boosted their immune systems.

Consuming Vitamin C Improves Your Immune System

The scientific literature has clearly established that vitamin C can directly promote and stimulate several very important functions of the immune system. These functions include the following:

  • Enhanced antibody production (B-lymphocytes, humoral immunity)

  • Enhanced interferon production

  • Enhanced phagocytic (scavenger cell) function

  • Enhanced T-lymphocyte function (cell-mediated immunity)

  • Enhanced B-lymphocyte and T-lymphocyte proliferation.

  • Enhanced natural killer cell activity (very important anti-cancer function)

  • Enhanced prostaglandin formation

  • Enhanced nitric oxide production by phagocytes

Life Saver Vitamin C

This is why they have a 25-fold higher vitamin C concentration than normal because they need so much energy to consume pathogens and cellular debris. The macrophages in the body contain 80 times more vitamin C than plasma, which allows them to engulf and digest other cells and particles. As important sources of vitamin C in the body, macrophages support immune function and overall health.The use of high-dose IV vitamin C as a treatment for infections, fatigue, and cancer has increased in recent years. Vitamin C is widely known for helping the body fight infections by stimulating the immune system. Muscles, vascular tissues, bones, tendons, and ligaments comprise collagen, the intercellular cement. Vitamin C is extremely beneficial for maintaining overall health. It is also a legitimate treatment for cancer patients because it specifically attacks cancer cells. According to Riordan et al., the plasma ascorbate levels of 14 out of 22 cancer patients in a phase I study were zero in 10 of those patients.

Inflammation markers CRP (c-reactive protein) and shorter survival times were correlated with deficiency (below 10 M). Ascorbate plays a key role in collagen production, immune function, and antioxidant protection, so subjects depleted of it would have trouble mounting cancer defenses. Vitamin C supplementation could also be used as an adjunctive therapy to replenish vitamin C stores in these patients.

According to University of Iowa scientists, “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" Their research explains why the high levels of vitamin C used in clinical trials were damaging to tumors but not normal tissues.

To explain further, "normal cells have several ways to remove hydrogen peroxide, keeping it at very low levels so it does not cause damage… An enzyme called catalase is the central route for removing hydrogen peroxide generated by decomposing vitamin C. The researchers discovered that cells with lower amounts of catalase activity were more susceptible to damage and death when exposed to high amounts of vitamin C," demonstrating how impactful vitamin C can be in combating cancer while simultaneously preventing further damage to the existing healthy cells.