Vitamin C Transport And Compartmentalization In Cancer Cells
As we addressed before, the knowledge on vitamin C uptake capacity and the organelle requirements of this nutrient in the context of cancer is still incomplete. Most of what is known comes from the analysis of GLUTs, which even if they have been mainly studied in the context of glucose uptake capacities in cancer, have direct implications in DHA uptake. In this context, it has been well described that cancer tissues overexpress GLUTs, which leads to an increased capacity to acquire glucose .
SVCTs on the other hand have been poorly studied. Meanwhile SVCT1 does not appear to have relevance in cancer , different studies have proposed that SVCT2 has a major function in tumors. The first of them showed that breast tumors have higher levels of SVCT2 expression compared to normal cells . In fact, overexpression of this transporter led to an increased chemosensitivity to high dose of ascorbate, which resulted in augmented reactive oxygen species production and ulterior cell death. Oppositely, siRNA against SVCT2 render the cancer cells resistant to this treatment . Therefore, SVCT2 might be implicated in the ascorbate induced cancer cell death phenomena. Similar results were observed by two groups in cholangiocarcinoma cells , hepatocellular carcinoma and colon cancer cells , where SVCT2 expression determines the susceptibility to pharmacological ascorbate-induced cell death.
With Breast Cancer Leading As The Top Cancer Among Women The Investment Into Leading Edge Treatment Is A Priority When It Comes To Creating An Approach To Breast Cancer Many Women Have Chosen To Follow The Conventional Only Route With The Continued Evolution Of Integrative Medical Care More Women Are Integrating Complimentary Medicine To Their Regime A Growing Option For Breast Cancer Support And Care Is Using An Integrative Treatment Option Called Intravenous Vitamin C
Outside of conventional chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery, patients are seeking to learn about additional effective care options. Integrative medicine is clearly identifying that there are effective treatments that should be considered alongside your conventional plan. Intravenous vitamin C has etched it way into cancer care as a promising treatment with validated science to boot. Intravenous vitamin C has shown to help slow the progression of many cancers, including cancers of the breast. Not only is intravenous vitamin C proving itself clinically beneficial, it is doing so while also helping to maintain a patients quality of life and health.
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Hormone Therapy For Breast Cancer
Some types of breast cancer are affected by hormones, like estrogen and progesterone. The breast cancer cells have receptors that attach to estrogen and progesterone, which helps them grow. Treatments that stop these hormones from attaching to these receptors are called hormone or endocrine therapy.
Hormone therapy can reach cancer cells almost anywhere in the body and not just in the breast. It’s recommended for women with tumors that are hormone receptor-positive. It does not help women whose tumors don’t have hormone receptors .
Possible Side Effects Of Ais
The most common side effects of AIs are:
- Hot flashes
- Bone and joint pain
- Muscle pain
AIs tend to have side effects different from tamoxifen. They don’t cause uterine cancers and very rarely cause blood clots. They can, however, cause muscle pain and joint stiffness and/or pain. The joint pain may be similar to a feeling of having arthritis in many different joints at one time. Options for treating this side effect include, stopping the AI and then switching to a different AI, taking a medicine called duloxetine , or routine exercise with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs . But the muscle and joint pain has led some women to stop treatment. If this happens, most doctors recommend using tamoxifen to complete 5 to 10 years of hormone treatment.
Because AIs drastically lower the estrogen level in women after menopause, they can also cause bone thinning, sometimes leading to osteoporosis and even fractures. If you are taking an AI, your bone density may be tested regularly and you may also be given bisphosphonates or denosumab , to strengthen your bones.
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Evidence For Using Iv Vitamin C In Breast Cancer Cont
QUESTION: I have a Breast Cancer patient who I would like to treat with HDIVC but her oncologist told her hes really not comfortable with it, especially since this new study in breast cancer patients which showed worse outcomes for the woman that used it during chemotherapy. Is there such a study?
ANSWER: Any actual human data showing that BrCA outcomes are worse with IVC either does not exist or is very well hidden. Additionally Dr. Heather Wright posted this conclusion from the 2014 Harris Paper: Results from our meta-analysis indicate that post diagnosis vitamin C supplement use among breast cancer patients is associated with a reduction in total mortality and breast cancer-specific mortality.REF And Heather mentions this new cell line study showing that pretreatment of cells with ASC prior to Tamox administration may attenuate cell death: Vitamin C suppresses cell death in MCF-7 human breast cancer cells induced by tamoxifen. This is in contrast to the only other two papers looking at cell treatment or basic science in regard to ASC and Tamox: A basic science theoretical treatment on potential MOA for Ascorbate and Tamox essentially a neutral outcome and this cell pretreatment study apparently positive for synergy of ASC Tamoxifen Modification of the effect of tamoxifen, cis-platin, DTIC, and interferon-alpha 2b on human melanoma cells in culture by a mixture of vitamins.
Vitamin C Transporter Is Downregulated In Primary Human Breast Cancer
Our recent work has indicated that vitamin C promotes 5hmC generation by serving as a cofactor for TETs,. Intracellular vitamin C deficiency would fail to maintain the catalytic activity of TETs, resulting in the loss of 5hmC as observed in breast cancer,,,. To identify potential factors responsible for the observed loss of 5hmC in primary human breast cancers, we analyzed RNA-seq data from The Cancer Genome Atlas . This dataset contained 113 matched pairs of breast cancer and normal breast tissue obtained from the same patients. Vitamin C enters and accumulates in breast epithelial cells mainly via SVCT2, which is encoded by the solute carrier family 23 member 2 gene . The expression of SVCT2 in breast cancer was decreased compared to normal breast epithelium . Of the 113 breast cancer samples, the SVCT2 expression was decreased in 72.5% by at least 1.5 fold compared to the matched normal breast tissues. TET1, which was expressed at a very low level, was slightly downregulated in 42.5% of breast cancer cases. TET2 and TET3 were downregulated in only 28% and 8.9% of cases, respectively. In most breast cancers, TET1, TET2, and TET3 expression levels were unchanged or even increased compared to their matched normal tissues, as shown in Fig. . These data suggest that the reduced SVCT2 expression, rather than that of TETs, might be a major cause for the loss of 5hmC observed in a majority of breast cancers.
Figure 1
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Magnesium Supplementationenhanced Anticancer Effect Of Vitamin C
To determine a concentration of the magnesium supplements that did not show cytotoxicity in SK-BR-3 and MCF-7 cells, the cells were cultured in DMEM supplied with 110 mM of two types of magnesium . Twenty-four hours after treatment, cell viability was measured . The cells showed no cytotoxicity at any of the tested concentrations. Next, SK-BR-3 and MCF-7 cells were cotreated with gradient concentrations of MgSO4 and MgCl2 and 1 mM vitamin C. In both SK-BR-3 and MCF-7 cells, the cell viability and anticancer effect of vitamin C increased from 5 to 41 percent, depending on the concentration of MgSO4 and MgCl2.
Cytotoxicity test of MgCl2 and MgSO4 and the synergistic anticancer effects of vitamin C with gradient concentrations of MgCl2 and MgSO4. Noncytotoxic concentrations of MgCl2 and MgSO4 were determined using cell viability assays. A, B. The cytotoxicity of MgCl2 and MgSO4 was tested in MCF-7 and SK-BR-3 cells. A noncytotoxic concentration of MgCl2 and MgSO4 was added to 1 mM vitamin C. C, D. Cell viability assay results from the cotreatment of 1 mM vitamin C with gradient concentrations of MgCl2 and MgSO4. Data are presented as means ± SEMs.
Vitamin C And Ozone Therapy In Fighting Breast Cancer
Ozone is an energised form of oxygen. It has a disinfecting effect.
At low concentrations, ozone can mobilise the bodys defences and activate the immune system. It also boosts the effect of Vitamin C in cancer treatment.
At the Alternative Cancer Treatment Centre in Kehl near Strasbourg, Dr. Hartung uses this combination in the treatment of breast cancer.
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Vitamin C And Buparlisib Cooperatively Regulate The Expression Of Genes Critical To Cancer Growth And Metastasis
Previously, decreased H3K4me3 by AKT inhibitor MK2206 in PIK3CA-mutated TNBC cells was shown to be associated with the suppressed expression of aurora kinase B , proliferating cell nuclear antigen and other genes that are critical to breast cancer survival . We evaluated the impact of vitamin C and buparlisib on AURKB and PCNA in TNBC cells. The results showed that vitamin C alone or buparlisib alone decreased both AURKB and PCNA in BT20 and MDA-MB-453 cells. Co-treatment of vitamin C and buparlisib further suppressed AURKB and PCNA . These results suggest that vitamin C and buparlisib cooperatively suppress the expression of genes critical to tumor growth.
What Can I Do To Prevent Breast Cancer
Healthy nutrition is a vital remedy. Healthy foods can be used therapeutically to fight breast cancer. Certain foods can reduce oxidative stress and strengthen the bodys immune system and repair system. A healthy diet helps the immune system to fight cancer cells, toxins, pathogens, and bacteria.
It is well known that:
- Selenium supports the repair processes in cells. Selenium improves the effect of chemotherapy in breast cancer.
- Zinc seems to reduce the spread of cancer cells. It helps in the destruction of breast cancer cells.
- Broccoli activates the immune system. It inhibits tumour formation, slows down tumour growth, and reduces the division of cancer cells.
- Thymus enzymes can have a very good healing effect in breast cancer patients.
- Pomegranates are very healthy. Apparently, they make it difficult for the tumour to form new blood vessels and spread.
It is clear that one can influence metabolic processes through a healthy diet. It must be ensured that the diet is not too one-sided and that body substance is not lost. Too much weight loss can weaken the body, something that is undesirable in cancer patients.
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Clinical Vitc Monotherapy Studies
Clinical monotherapy studies administering high-dose VitC in patients with various types of advanced malignancies report this therapy to be safe, showing no significant toxicity at doses of up to 3âg/kg . These studies additionally demonstrated that at the given doses, ascorbate plasma levels of over 10âmM could be sustained for several hours, and observed maximum achievable blood concentrations of up to 49âmM . Grade 3 or higher adverse events possibly related to IVC treatment were reported in only 1â2 cases per study , the most common being hypokalemia , hypernatremia , hypertension and anemia . Riordan et al. additionally reported one case of kidney stones in a metastatic CRC patient with a history of renal calculi, suggesting IVC may be contraindicated for patients with renal dysfunction. Nielsen et al. reported one case of pulmonary embolism and pneumonia each, both of which can also be attributed to the underlying disease, since cancer is known to increase the risk of thromboembolic events. Hoffer at al . reported no grade 3 or higher toxicities.
Anticancer Mechanisms Of Vitamin C
The increased understanding of the role of ascorbate in the cell together with the molecular mechanisms of cancer development has led to a number of interesting hypotheses regarding the mechanism of vitamin C anti-cancer activity.
The importance of vitamin C in curbing the development of cancer metastasis has been related to its role in collagen synthesis, which is decreased when there is a lack of vitamin C . Indeed, it has been observed that the changes of the stroma surrounding a tumor are identical to those observed in scurvy. Thus, a dense stromal consistency may represent a physical barrier against the spread of neoplastic cells encapsulating them with a dense fibrous tissue. This result can be achieved by high doses of vitamin C. Moreover, vitamin C enhances intercellular ground substance resistance to local infiltration. Hence, it is important to maintain the synthesis of collagen at the right levels by using vitamin C to contrast the development of metastasis . This hypothesis was also supported by the work of Ewan Cameron and Rotman, who suggested that vitamin C inhibits the enzyme hyaluronidase, which decreases the disruption of the tissue and proliferation of cancer cells .
In the 2000s, experiments performed in cell culture showed that millimolar vitamin C plasma concentration can kill cancer cells via the pro-oxidative activity of ascorbate, which produces H2O2 and OH .
The main anticancer mechanisms proposed for vitamin C.
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How Does Intravenous Ivc Vitamin C Work
Vitamin C on its own has been shown to have cytotoxic effects. As its typical makeup, vitamin C acts as a very powerful antioxidant. At high doses however, vitamin C will no longer have antioxidant properties, but instead will have pro oxidant qualities . When it comes to treating cancer, similar to chemotherapy, vitamin C as a pro oxidant has the ability to cause cancerous cells to die. Given its pro oxidant effects, the usual response to high dose vitamin C is won it kill healthy cells too? The answer to this is no, as healthy cells are immune to vitamin Cs pro oxidant effects. The unfortunate limitation of vitamin C however, is that, when taken orally, absorption into the body maxes out at about 2 grams. In order for vitamin C to be useful as a pro oxidant, a minimum of 25 grams are required levels that could not be tolerated by oral supplementation. The only option to bypass the limits of oral vitamin C is to safely infuse it directly into the blood. Having vitamin C infused into the blood has long been used as an integrative cancer care therapy. Although intravenous vitamin C is still considered a complimentary treatment, it holds its own in terms of what it can do.
A Mixed Basket Of Results
This leaves us with a question: could a high dose vitamin C jab be used to treat cancer? So far, the evidence is mixed.
In the most recent studies, results tentatively support the idea that high-dose vitamin C has potential as a cancer treatment. But this is far from clear-cut.
The first study tested vitamin C as a treatment in mice with blood cancer, and found that injecting high doses of vitamin C slowed down the progression of the disease.
But as mice are very different to people, this has some way to go before we can say that vitamin C will help treat cancer patients.
The other study was testing the safety of high dose vitamin C injections in people with either non-small cell lung cancer or glioblastoma, an aggressive type of brain tumour, not if its an effective treatment. These tests would follow only if the injections are safe.
This early work showed that doctors could safely inject high doses of vitamin C into patients, but as they only tested it in a small number of people its hard to say if this would be the same for everyone.
This is far from the clear-cut answer some headlines would have you believe. Especially considering neither study looked at long term effects of a vitamin C jab in people, and to date theres no evidence that vitamin C improves cancer survival.
Some studies have even suggested vitamin C could interfere with some anti-cancer drugs, with one study showing it may even protect breast cancer cells from the drug tamoxifen.
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Vitamin C Improves The Response Of Tnbc To Buparlisib In Vitro
Given the enhanced efficacy by vitamin C on cell viability in vitro, we next tested the co-treatment of cultured TNBC cells with buparlisib and vitamin C. An apoptosis assay was used to evaluate cell death in order to validate the initial EC50 findings. The result showed vitamin C alone did not induce apoptosis, while vitamin C at 100 M slightly increased apoptotic cells. Buparlisib promoted apoptosis. In combination, vitamin C enhanced the effect of buparlisib to induce apoptosis in BT20 and MDA-MB-453 cells .2A-B). Co-treatment of TNBC cells with 100 M vitamin C and buparlisib further induced apoptosis compared to co-treatment with 50 M vitamin C and buparlisib or buparlisib alone.