Vitamin C mixed with antibiotics is surprisingly effective at killing off stem cancer cells
A new study showed that vitamin C mixed with antibiotics is surprisingly effective at killing off stem cancer cells.
The study was conducted by scientists from the University of Salford in the UK and showed that the compound resulted from combining vitamin C and antibiotics helped treat tumours and reduced the chances for the cancer to return, being up to 100 times more effective than another anti-cancer agent being tested, 2-Deoxy-D-glucose.
The compound works in two stages. First of all, antibiotics force the cancer cells to rely solely on glucose in order to stay alive, which it enough to lead to the death of some cells. If some tumours become drug-resistant, they switch to an alternative source of nutrients so as to keep growing, and this is where vitamin C falls in place, and it removes the source of glucose, basically leading to the starvation of stem cancer cells.
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“In this scenario, vitamin C behaves as an inhibitor of glycolysis, which fuels energy production in mitochondria, the ‘powerhouse’ of the cell,” says a scientists from the team, Federica Sotgia.
The compound is yet to be tested on animals or humans, and was so far tested only on breast cancer cells. Nevertheless, since the current hypothesis considers that cancer stem cells act the same way as regular stem cells, such a discovery would mean that cancer can be attacked from its very core.
“This is further evidence that vitamin C and other non-toxic compounds may have a role to play in the fight against cancer,” explains Michael Lisanti, a scientist in the team. ”Our results indicate it is a promising agent for clinical trials, and as an add-on to more conventional therapies, to prevent tumour recurrence, further disease progression and metastasis,” he concludes.
The findings of the study have been published in Oncotarget.
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