High dose of ascorbic acid induces cell death in mesothelioma cells

A high dose of Vitamin C (as sodium ascorbate) kills mesothelioma cells in vitro.

When the cells were injected as a xenograft into mice, tumor growth was significantly decreased in mice receiving high dose sodium ascorbate compared to control mice (no vitamin C).

Abstract:
"Malignant mesothelioma is an asbestos-related fatal disease with no effective cure. Recently, high dose of ascorbate in cancer treatment has been reexamined. We studied whether high dose of ascorbic acid induced cell death of four human mesothelioma cell lines. High dose of ascorbic acid induced cell death of all mesothelioma cell lines in a dose-dependent manner. We further clarified the cell killing mechanism that ascorbic acid induced reactive oxygen species and impaired mitochondrial membrane potential.

In an vivo experiment, intravenous administration of ascorbic acid significantly decreased the growth rate of mesothelioma tumor inoculated in mice. These data suggest that ascorbic acid may have benefits for patients with mesothelioma."

Four cell lines were treated with ascorbic acid for 24 h at concentrations from 50 microM to 1000 microM. Ascorbic acid reduced all cell viability in a dose-dependent manner.

The concentrations found to be effective in this study are easily achievable with intravenous administration. Concentrations of up to 1000 micromolar (4-5- times what can be achieved with an oral dose) had significant killing effects on a range of mesothelioma cell lines. In the in vivo tudy, few milligrams of vitamin C injected into the tail vein produced an effect.

Takemura Y, Satoh M, Satoh K, Hamada H, Sekido Y, Kubota S. High dose of ascorbic acid induces cell death in mesothelioma cells. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2010 Apr 2;394(2):249-53. Epub 2010 Feb 19. PubMed PMID: 20171954