Skip to main content
. 2021 Feb 26;13(3):735. doi: 10.3390/nu13030735

Table 1.

Effect of high-dose intravenous vitamin C (IVC) on quality of life, performance status, and symptom severity in cancer patients.

Type of Study Patients Intervention Outcome References
Prospective 39 terminal cancer patients 10 g IVC twice with a 3-day interval for one week, followed by oral intake of 4 g daily for one week Improved QoL assessed by the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire:
  • -

    improved global health status *

  • -

    improved all functional scales * (physical, role, emotional, cognitive, social)

  • -

    reduced intensity of symptoms: fatigue *, nausea/vomiting *, appetite loss *, pain *, insomnia *, dyspnea, constipation, diarrhea

 Yeom et al. [120]
Prospective 24 patients with advanced cancer and hematological malignancy refractory to standard therapy IVC three times a week at fixed doses 0.4, 0.6, 0.9 and 1.5 g/kg for average 10 weeks QoL assessed by the FACT-G questionnaire:
  • -

    worsening of physical function in 0.4 g/kg cohort *:

  • -

    no changes in the social, emotional, and functional parameters of QoL in 0.4 g/kg and other cohorts

 Hoffer et al. [29]
Prospective 60 patients with cancer, anti-cancer therapy administered in 34 patients 4 weeks of IVC therapy, median single dose 50 g (range 25–100 g) Improved QoL assessed by the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire:
  • -

    improved global health status *

  • -

    improved all functional scales *: physical, role, emotional, cognitive, social

  • -

    reduced intensity of symptoms: fatigue *, insomnia *, constipation *, pain *, appetite loss, dyspnea, diarrhea

 Takahashi et al. [102]
Prospective 17 patients with advanced solid tumors refractory to standard therapy IVC for 4 consecutive days a week for 4 weeks, starting at 30 g/m2, a dose was increased by 20 g/m2 until a maximum tolerated dose (110 g/m2) Improved QoL assessed by the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire:
  • -

    improved global health status

  • -

    improved functional scales (physical, role, emotional, cognitive, social)

  • -

    reduced intensity of symptoms: fatigue, nausea/vomiting, pain, dyspnea, insomnia, appetite loss, diarrhea

 Stephenson et al. [28]
Prospective 23 patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer IVC once weekly: 5 g in 1st week, 30 g in 2nd week, 60 g in 3–12 weeks QoL assessed by the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire:
  • -

    no changes in global health status

  • -

    worsening of physical * and role functioning with no changes in other functional scales (emotional, cognitive, social)

  • -

    no changes in symptoms intensity

QoL assessed by the QLQ-PR25 questionnaire:
  • -

    no changes in functional scales

  • -

    no changes in symptoms intensity

 Nielsen et al. [27]
Controlled retrospective 125 patients with breast cancer on anti-tumor therapy
(study group n = 53 ; control group n = 72)		 Study group: IVC 7.5 g once a week during adjuvant therapies for a minimum 4 weeks
Controls: no IVC during adjuvant therapies		 Improved performance status assessed by the Karnofsky index and the ECOG scale during the 6 months of study * and the next 6 months of aftercare *
Reduced intensity of complains (study group vs. controls):
  • -

    during the 6 months of study: fatigue *, sleep disorders *, loss of appetite *, depression *

  • -

    during the next 6 months of aftercare: loss of appetite *, dizziness *, nausea *, fatigue *, sleep disorders *, hemorrhagic diathesis *

 Vollbracht et al. [105]
Controlled retrospective 39 patients with bone metastases, radiotherapy-resistant
(n = 15 on chemotherapy;
n = 15 on IVC therapy; n = 9 controls)		 IVC group: 2.5 g IVC during pain Improved performance status assessed by the ECOG scale in 27% of IVC group and 7% of the chemotherapy group, while worsened in the control group Günes-Bayir et al. [123]
Case study A 45-year old female with recurrent breast cancer IVC 50 g twice a week for 4 weeks Improved QoL assessed by the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire:
  • -

    improved global health status

  • -

    improved functional scales: physical, role, emotional, cognitive, social

  • -

    reduced intensity of symptoms: fatigue, nausea/vomiting, pain, insomnia, loss of appetite

Fatigue assessed by the MFSI-SF questionnaire:
  • -

    reduced general, physical, emotional, and mental fatigue

  • -

    enhanced vigor

 Carr et al. [121]
Case study A 81-year-old male with recurrent pulmonary angiosarcoma IVC 30 g daily for 1 week Improved QoL assessed by the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire:
  • -

    improved global health status

  • -

    improved functional scales (physical, role, emotional, cognitive, social)

  • -

    reduced intensity of symptoms: fatigue, nausea/vomiting, pain, insomnia, loss of appetite

Fatigue assessed by the MFSI-SF questionnaire:
  • -

    reduced general, physical, emotional, and mental fatigue

 Carr et al. [122]

Quality of life was assessed using the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire unless otherwise indicated. * p < 0.05 compared to values before IVC therapy (if shown in the study). EORTC QLQ-C30—The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality-of-Life Core-30; FACT-G—Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General; QLQ-PR25—Quality of Life Questionnaire–Prostate Module 25; MFSI-SF—Multidimensional Fatigue Syndrome Inventory-Short Form.