Intravenous (IV) Vitamin C

At Integrated Health Clinic our goal is a comprehensive approach to cancer care that at times combines traditional treatments like chemotherapy or radiation with supportive therapies to improve outcomes and quality of life for cancer patients.

One promising therapy in integrative oncology is intravenous (IV) vitamin C, also known as pharmacological ascorbate. IV vitamin C is well established to reduce side effects from cancer treatments, and in an exciting recent study boosted the efficacy of chemotherapy in those with pancreatic cancer.

The study examined how IV vitamin C works with chemotherapy drugs gemcitabine and paclitaxel in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. 36 patients with stage IV pancreatic cancer were randomly assigned to receive either chemotherapy alone (control) or chemotherapy plus 75g of IV vitamin C three times per week. The study’s primary aim was to assess overall survival, while secondary objectives included progression-free survival and tracking adverse events and quality of life.

In this trial, patients who received high doses of IV vitamin C along with chemotherapy lived longer than those who received chemotherapy alone. Specifically, patients who received vitamin C lived around 16 months compared to about 8.3 months for those who only received chemotherapy! They also experienced longer periods without the cancer progressing.

Importantly, the addition of high-dose vitamin C did not lead to more severe side effects or negatively impact the patients’ quality of life. In fact, those receiving the IV vitamin C had less reductions in white blood cell counts, and fewer delays in their chemotherapy treatments than those receiving chemo alone.

For those with advanced cancers, combining integrative therapies like IV vitamin C with standard treatments may provide new hope and better quality of life. While more research is needed, this study points to a future where integrative treatments prove to be a valuable complement to standard of care.

Read the entire study here: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11491967/

Dr. Alanna Rinas, ND