SynthesisNutrients2019
The Effect of Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid) in the Treatment of Patients with Cancer: A Systematic Review.
Synthesis in Nutrients, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 77 papers, 2 of them syntheses 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
77 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 155 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
- The Efficacy and Safety of Nutritional Supplements for Cancer Supportive Care: An Umbrella Review and Hierarchical Evidence Synthesis.Integrative cancer therapiesPooled it
- Trial
- A Randomized, Open-Label, Multicenter, Phase 3 Study of High-Dose Vitamin C Plus FOLFOX ± Bevacizumab versus FOLFOX ± Bevacizumab in Unresectable Untreated Metastatic Colorectal Cancer (VITALITY Study).Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research · 2022Trial
- Review
- The Redox Paradox of Natural Supplements in Cancer: A Narrative Review to Guide Clinical Practice.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Association of serum vitamin D and serum vitamin C with the risk of melanoma among adults in the United States: a cross-sectional analysis of 2003-2006 and 2017-2018 NHANES data.Journal of clinical biochemistry and nutrition · 2026Article
- Two-color spheroid model for determining the OJournal of biological engineering · 2026Article
- The role of antioxidants in multiple myeloma: diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic applications: a narrative review.Therapeutic advances in hematology · 2026Review
- Interplay of oxidative stress and antioxidant mechanisms in cancer development and progression.Archives of toxicology · 2026Review
- Harnessing Vitamin C: Unveiling Its Potential in Cancer Prevention and Treatment.Current medicinal chemistry · 2026Review
- Review
- Evaluation of the effect of melatonin and ascorbic acid on bone healing in a rat model of osteoradionecrosis induced by tooth extraction.BMC oral health · 2025Article
- Microbiome Modulation for the Treatment of Solid Neoplasms.Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology · 2025Review
- The prevalence of clinically relevant herb-drug interactions between herbal products and anti-cancer therapy in older adults with cancer - A cross-sectional study.Exploratory research in clinical and social pharmacy · 2025Article
- Effect of Photoperiod on Ascorbic Acid Metabolism Regulation and Accumulation in Rapeseed (Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Physiological responses of catfish liver to katuk extract, turmeric powder, and vitamin C supplementation in the diet during ovarium development.Open veterinary journal · 2025Article
- Vitamins and minerals and their role in cancer: a comprehensive review.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Review
- New Insights into Aspirin's Anticancer Activity: The Predominant Role of Its Iron-Chelating Antioxidant Metabolites.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Enzymatic synthesis of phenolic acid glucosyl esters to test activities on cholangiocarcinoma cells.Applied microbiology and biotechnology · 2024Article
17 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Many cancer patients on intensive chemotherapy lack vitamin C. Vitamin C stimulates the production and activation of immune cells, so perhaps supplementation could be used to improve the immunity in those patients. This review assesses the effectiveness and safety of vitamin C administration in cancer. The PubMed and EMBASE databases were searched and all study designs except for phase I studies, and case reports were included in this review. A total of 19 trials were included. In only 4 trials randomization was used to determine if patients received vitamin C or a placebo. The result of this review does not prove that there is a clinically relevant positive effect of vitamin C supplementation in cancer patients in general on the overall survival, clinical status, quality of life (QOL) and performance status (PS), since the quality of the studies published is low. Interventions and patient groups are very diverse, hence an effect in some patient groups is possible. There seems to be a better effect with intravenous than oral administration. Nevertheless, treatment with vitamin C is safe with minimal side effects. Thereby, we think it is safe to examine the effects of vitamin C on specific groups of patients in a randomized controlled setting.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.