Abstract
The possibility of use of vitamin C in oncology emerged about 30 years ago and became topic of expert discussions. Recent discoveries in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of ascorbate and laboratory and clinical research demonstrated that vitamin C has dual properties (antioxidant and prooxidant) depending on the dose and on the conditions of the microenvironment in which operates.
Based on these new findings, it appears that for antitumour effect high concentrations of ascorbate is needed (mmol/l), which is attainable only by administration of doses of the gram order. Milimolar plasmatic concentration of ascorbate is selectively cytotoxic for many tumor cell lines.
The desired post-infusion plasma concentration is established to 18-22 mmol/l. Appropriate dose of vitamin C was established in recent studies within the range from 0.75 to 1.75 g/kg of vitamin C.
Phase I clinical studies organized in recent years proved safety of intravenous vitamin C in gram order and possibility of combination of the substance with standard chemotherapy. The studies showed that application of intravenous vitaminC belongs to the basic antitumor therapy, because it improves quality of life of oncological patients and reduces intensity of undesirable effects caused by chemo/radiotherapy