A team of researchers is set to begin clinical trials to prove that a high-dose combination of vitamins C and K3 makes cancer cells more sensitive to chemotherapy and radiation, while also lessening the harsh side effects of those treatments.

Dr Jack Summers and James Jamison, researchers in Summa Health System, have been studying C/K3 for nearly a decade in the lab and finding that the combination kills or slows the growth of cancer cells. They say the vitamin combo kills cancer cells without damaging healthy cells nearby.

“We are highly confident this is going to work,” Summers said. “It’s almost too good to be true, when you look at the laboratory effects.”

In the lab, C/K3 has shown the ability to kill prostate, ovary, lung and breast cancer cells. Whether it can do the same in humans remains to be seen. In this first trial, researchers are seeking prostate cancer patients who have already been through treatment, but whose PSAs are continuing to rise, which is a sign that the cancer has not been fully controlled.

The researchers say the vitamin combo makes the tumour cells more susceptible to chemotherapy or radiation and also appears to lessen the effects of chemo and radiation, such as hair loss and nausea — though that finding is mainly anecdotal at this point.

Akron Beacon Journal, Oct 26, 2004