Can vitamin C really help against colorectal cancer? Based on a new study, the answer seems yes.
In the new US research, mega doses of vitamin C has the ability to stop the tumor growth of colorectal cancer cells that can be influenced by two gene mutations, namely, KRAS and BRAF. The vitamin is able to accomplish it by increasing the levels of free radicals, which affect any type of cell in different ways. With regard to these specific cancer cells, the free radicals can inactivate a certain enzyme that helps metabolize glucose that's needed by the cells to grow and multiply.
Since the 1970s, there have been several studies about the effectiveness of vitamin C in fighting cancer. Perhaps the most famous was that of Linus Pauling, a Nobel Prize for Chemistry awardee, who worked with a Scottish physician to test vitamin C pills on selected cancer patients. After two trials covering many years in the Mayo Clinic, the results were poor. Mark Levine, another scientist, theorized that a huge amount of vitamin C, which must be given intravenously, should be provided to make it work.
The newest study anchored on the research of Jihye Yun, who previously studied in Johns Hopkins University and is now in Weill Cornell Medicine for a postdoctoral degree. Taking the lead is currently Lewis Cantley, who's also in the same university. Yun's work suggested that the protein that delivers glucose to cancer cells with mutated genes can also deliver vitamin C equivalent to more than 200 oranges in oxidized form, which has an opposite effect.
The study has so far been studied on mice. They are hoping to proceed with human trials soon. But if the human tests provide positive results, it can be helpful in identifying who needs to receive cancer drugs and who can thrive in vitamin C treatment.
For more information on the new research, visit Science.