SynthesisThe oncologist2015
Is there a role for oral or intravenous ascorbate (vitamin C) in treating patients with cancer? A systematic review.
Synthesis in The oncologist, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 46 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
46 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 112 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effect of vitamins C and E on cancer survival; a systematic review.Daru : journal of Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences · 2022Pooled it
- Review
- Urolithiasis in patients with cancer.Nature reviews. Urology · 2026Review
- Biochemical Analysis of Inflammatory Markers and Oxidative Stress Biomarkers in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Comprehensive Case-Control Study.Current medicinal chemistry · 2026Article
- May nutrients and dietary supplements influence the gut-lung microbiota axis in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and exacerbations?Archives of medical science : AMS · 2026Article
- Vitamin C in the Management of Thyroid Cancer: A Highway to New Treatment?Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Evolution of radiation-induced dermatitis treatment.Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2024Review
- Effects of Antioxidant Dietary Supplement Use upon Response to Cancer Treatment: A Scoping Review of Available Evidence.Nutrition and cancer · 2024Article
- Non-pharmaceutical interventions to optimize cancer immunotherapy.Oncoimmunology · 2023Review
- Integrating Systematic Reviews into Supportive Care Trial Design: The Rethinking Clinical Trials (REaCT) Program.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2022Review
- Review
- The potential of gas plasma technology for targeting breast cancer.Clinical and translational medicine · 2022Review
- Ascorbate as a Bioactive Compound in Cancer Therapy: The Old Classic Strikes Back.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- The Result of Vitamin C Treatment of Patients with Cancer: Conditions Influencing the Effectiveness.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Review
- Diverse antitumor effects of ascorbic acid on cancer cells and the tumor microenvironment.Frontiers in oncology · 2022Review
- Complementary Medicine in the Treatment of Cancer Patients.Deutsches Arzteblatt international · 2021Article
- Clinical efficacy and safety of oral and intravenous vitamin C use in patients with malignant diseases.Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology · 2021Review
- [Complementary medicine in uro-oncology].Der Urologe. Ausg. A · 2021Article
- The antioxidant response in Barrett's tumorigenesis: A double-edged sword.Redox biology · 2021Review
- Complementary Methods in Cancer Treatment-Cure or Curse?International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMany cancer patients receive supplemental ascorbate (vitamin C) in the belief that it synergizes the anticancer effects of chemotherapy and reduces its toxicity.
methodsA systematic review was performed to evaluate the antitumor effects and toxicity of ascorbate treatment. Medline (1946 to March 2014), EMBASE (1947 to March 2014), and the Cochrane central register (1993 to March 2014) were searched for randomized and observational studies.
resultsOf 696 identified records, 61 full-text articles were screened and 34 were included. In total, 5 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) (n = 322), 12 phase I/II trials (n = 287), 6 observational studies (n = 7,599), and 11 case reports (n = 267) were identified. Because of study heterogeneity, no meta-analyses were performed. No RCTs reported any statistically significant improvements in overall or progression-free survival or reduced toxicity with ascorbate relative to control arm. Evidence for ascorbate's antitumor effects was limited to case reports and observational and uncontrolled studies.
conclusionThere is no high-quality evidence to suggest that ascorbate supplementation in cancer patients either enhances the antitumor effects of chemotherapy or reduces its toxicity. Given the high financial and time costs to patients of this treatment, high-quality placebo-controlled trials are needed.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.