Dr. Weeks’ Comment: Everyone agrees that the standard of care in hematology and oncology needs some support. Rarely can any oncologist, honestly assure a patient of an excellent outcome by following the standard of care. Often oncologist themselves opt for different treatments than the standard of care for themselves or their loved ones when they get sick.
The standard of care which involves chemotherapy and radiation therapy and surgery can be helpful but can also have severe side effects. The hunt is afoot to find remedies that can enhance the standard of care and create less or fewer toxic side effects. To that end, the research on high-dose intravenous vitamin C is very intriguing. This is particularly so when it’s combined at a ratio of 100:1 (vitamin C with the prohormone vitamin K3).
Clinical trials have found cancer cells have a deficiency of alkaline and acid DNase which are activated with exposure to vitamin C and vitamin K3 in a ratio of 100:1 . When cancer cells are exposed to these two vitamins ( C and K3), the cell membrane ruptures spilling its metabolic contents and the results is targeted death of cancer cells. The scientific term for this method of destroying cancer cells while not harming normal cells is “autoschizis’.
Again, the combination of intravenous vitamin C and K is a great alternative to cancer treatment as it does not affect healthy, normal cells and it potentiates the killing effect of chemotherapy and radiation therapy while minimizing side-effects from the standard of care.
Let’s take a look at some of the research on this simple yet powerful adjunct to the standard of care and cancer treatments today.
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Vitamins C and K3: A Powerful Redox System for Sensitizing Leukemia Lymphocytes to Everolimus and Barasertib
DONIKA IVANOVA, et al
Anticancer Research March 2018, 38 (3) 1407-1414;
Abstract
Background/Aim: Recent studies provided convincing evidence for the anticancer activity of combined application of vitamin C and pro-vitamin K3 (menadione). The molecular pathways underlying this process are still not well established. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of the combination of vitamin C plus pro-vitamin K3 on the redox status of leukemia and normal lymphocytes, as well as their sensitizing effect for a variety of anticancer drugs.
Materials and Methods: Cytotoxicity of the substances was analyzed by trypan blue staining and automated counting of live and dead cells. Apoptosis was analyzed by fluorescein isothiocyanate-annexin V test. Oxidative stress was evaluated by the intracellular levels of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species and protein–carbonyl products. Results: Combined administration of 300 μM vitamin C plus 3 μM pro-vitamin K3 reduced the viability of leukemia lymphocytes by ~20%, but did not influence the viability of normal lymphocytes. All combinations of anticancer drug plus vitamins C and K3 were characterized by synergistic cytotoxicity towards Jurkat cells, compared to cells treated with drug alone for 24 h. In the case of barasertib and everolimus, this synergistic cytotoxicity increased within 72 hours. It was accompanied by strong induction of apoptosis, but a reduction of level of hydroperoxides and moderately increased protein–carbonyl products in leukemia cells.
Conclusion: Leukemia lymphocytes were more sensitive to combined administration of anticancer drug (everolimus or barasertib) plus vitamins C and K3, compared to normal lymphocytes. The combination of vitamin C plus K3 seems to be a powerful redox system that could specifically influence redox homeostasis of leukemia cells and sensitize them to conventional chemotherapy.
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Cancer Cell Int. 2011; 11: 19.
Vitamin K3 and vitamin C alone or in combination induced apoptosis in leukemia cells by a similar oxidative stress signalling mechanism
Angelica R Bonilla-Porras,1 Marlene Jimenez-Del-Rio,1 and Carlos Velez-Pardo1
Background
Secondary therapy-related acute lymphoblastic leukemia might emerge following chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy for primary malignancies. Therefore, other alternatives should be pursued to treat leukemia.
Results
It is shown that vitamin K3- or vitamin C- induced apoptosis in leukemia cells by oxidative stress mechanism involving superoxide anion radical and hydrogen peroxide generation, activation of NF-κB, p53, c-Jun, protease caspase-3 activation and mitochondria depolarization leading to nuclei fragmentation. Cell death was more prominent when Jurkat and K562 cells are exposed to VC and VK3 in a ratio 1000:1 (10 mM: 10 μM) or 100:1 (300 μM: 3 μM), respectively.
Conclusion
We provide for the first time in vitro evidence supporting a causative role for oxidative stress in VK3- and VC-induced apoptosis in Jurkat and K562 cells in a domino-like mechanism. Altogether these data suggest that VK3 and VC should be useful in the treatment of leukemia.
Eur J Med Chem. 2003 May;38(5):451-7.
doi: 10.1016/s0223-5234(03)00082-5.
The association of vitamins C and K3 kills cancer cells mainly by autoschizis, a novel form of cell death. Basis for their potential use as coadjuvants in anticancer therapy
Julien Verrax 1, Julie Cadrobbi, Marianne Delvaux, James M Jamison, Jacques Gilloteaux,
Abstract
Deficiency of alkaline and acid DNase is a hallmark in all non-necrotic cancer cells in animals and humans. These enzymes are reactivated at early stages of cancer cell death by vitamin C (acid DNase) and vitamin K(3) (alkaline DNase). Moreover, the coadministration of these vitamins (in a ratio of 100:1, for C and K(3), respectively) produced selective cancer cell death. Detailed morphological studies indicated that cell death is produced mainly by autoschizis, a new type of cancer cell death. Several mechanisms are involved in such a cell death induced by CK(3), they included: formation of H(2)O(2) during vitamins redox cycling, oxidative stress, DNA fragmentation, no caspase-3 activation, and cell membrane injury with progressive loss of organelle-free cytoplasm. Changes in the phosphorylation level of some critical proteins leading to inactivation of NF-kappaB appear as main intracellular signal transduction pathways. The increase knowledge in the mechanisms underlying cancer cells death by CK(3) may ameliorate the techniques of their in vivo administration. The aim is to prepare the introduction of the association of vitamins C and K(3) into human clinics as a new, non-toxic adjuvant cancer therapy.
Science, like the law, grinds slowly but finely. Scientific discoveries happen on a daily basis, but their cynical, practical consequences are often take years or decades to become a parent. A goal of a scientifically oriented clinician is to be up on the science to the degree of being able determine what are the safe effective and cost-effective developments, and to make those available to you today. We call that offering you tomorrow’s medicine today the following is a concluding summary from publications at the National Institute of Health (NIH) where in the scientist, endorse, intravenous, vitamin C.
“Concluding Remarks
Vitamin C as a cancer therapy has had a controversial past. What has been intriguing are small clinical trials that suggest some responses, but with no clear rationale for why cancers should respond to vitamin C or a path forward for explaining which patients are most likely to respond. Now a growing number of preclinical studies are showing how high-dose vitamin C might benefit cancer patients. Importantly, these preclinical studies provide a clear rationale and potential biomarkers that may help personalize the therapeutic approach and identify patient populations that are likely to respond to high-dose vitamin C therapy. Since the mechanisms of action of vitamin C are becoming better defined, we can propose vitamin C combinations in a more rational, hypothesis-driven manner. In addition, given the current high financial cost of new cancer drugs, it seems rational to improve the effectiveness of current therapies by studying their clinical interactions with vitamin C. In our view, the implementation of this treatment paradigm could provide benefit to many cancer patients.”
More promising info here
- https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vitamin-k3-menadione#anticancer-anti-inflammatory-properties
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6040265/
- https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071005143631.htm
- https://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/38/3/1407