Title:Ascorbic Acid in Cancer Treatment: Let the Phoenix Fly
Author:Niraj Shenoy,Edward Creagan,Thomas Witzig,Mark Levine
Publication:Cancer Cell
Publisher:Elsevier
Date:12 November 2018
Published by Elsevier Inc
Vitamin C (ascorbic acid, ascorbate), despite controversy, has re-emerged as a promising
anti-cancer agent. Recent knowledge of intravenous ascorbate
pharmacokinetics and discovery of unexpected mechanisms of ascorbate action have spawned many investigations. Two mechanisms of
anti-cancer activity with ascorbate have gained prominence:
hydrogen peroxide-induced
oxidative stress and
DNA demethylation mediated by ten-eleven translocation
enzyme activation. Here, we highlight salient aspects of the evolution of ascorbate in cancer treatment, provide insights into the pharmacokinetics of ascorbate, describe mechanisms of its anti-cancer activity in relation to the pharmacokinetics, outline promising preclinical and clinical evidence, and recommend future directions.
