A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW ON ANTICANCER EFFECT OF VITAMIN C ON SPECIFIC CANCER

Rakesh Kumar Sahu*, Gautam Kumar, Gulshan Kumar, Rohit Kumar, Jaikee Kumar, M. D. Akhtar Hussain, Anil Kumar, Deepak

While long valued as a simple antioxidant, vitamin C is now being seriously re-evaluated as a powerful tool in cancer treatment. Recent studies show that when administered in high-dose intravenous forms, it can achieve blood levels that trigger the production of hydrogen peroxide within tumors, effectively killing cancer cells while protecting healthy ones. Beyond this direct attack, it helps regulate the immune system and works alongside traditional therapies like chemotherapy to improve outcomes. This approach has shown particular promise in treating aggressive cancers—such as lung, breast, and colorectal varieties—especially those involving specific genetic mutations like KRAS or BRAF. Beyond its direct attack on cancer cells, vitamin C helps repair the body's internal "programming" by activating enzymes that turn back on important tumor-suppressing genes. It also toughens the area surrounding a tumor, making it harder for cancer to spread, while simultaneously coaching the immune system to better hunt and destroy malignant cells. Data shows that people with diets high in vitamin C often have lower rates of breast and stomach cancers. Most importantly, early clinical trials indicate that adding high-dose vitamin C to standard treatments is safe, helps patients feel better during therapy, and may even help them live longer. Even with this progress, several hurdles remain. There is ongoing debate regarding how the body processes vitamin C, the best way to dose it, and how it interacts with other medications. Some trials have shown mixed results, which might be due to differences in how the studies were designed or the specific types of patients involved. To address this, current research is focused on finding better ways to use vitamin C, such as using nanotechnology for delivery or identifying specific "biomarkers" to predict which patients will benefit most. Ultimately, while more large-scale studies are needed to settle these controversies, the growing evidence suggests that vitamin C could become a safe and accessible addition to modern, multi-step cancer treatments.