Medical Care Introductions

High-concentration vitamin C infusion therapy (IVC)

accepting medical institution: Kanazawa city partner medical institutions

High-Concentration Vitamin C Infusion Therapy is the
treatment that instills 60 to 100 g of vitamin C to produce
hydrogen peroxide, causes concentration of nucleus of
the cancer cells and induces the death of them without
affecting normal cells.

In the 1970s, a medical journal announced that vitamin
C infusions and oral supplements increased survival
ratio by 4.2 to 6 times for patients with advanced stage
cancer.  In 2005, scientists from the National Institutes
of Health, National Cancer Institute, and National Food
and Drug Administration of the United States published
a joint paper of High Concentrations of Vitamin C Kill
Cancer Cells in the journal of the American Academy of
Sciences that. As a result, research and popularization
of high-Concentration Vitamin C Infusion Therapy was
used as an adjuvant therapy for cancer, mainly in US
university hospitals, and gradually was introduced in
Japan as a cancer treatment option in 2007.

From current thesis, it was found that high-concentration
vitamin C drip therapy may improve symptoms such as
pain, malaise, loss of appetite, and insomnia, and
maintains quality of life (QOL) in cancer patients.  There
are also reports of cancer progression stopping or tumor
shrinkage when used alone or in combination with other
treatments. Above all, the high-concentration vitamin C
drip therapy has almost no painful side effects like
chemotherapy.

■ Applicable patients for High-Concentration Vitamin C
Infusion Therapy

(1) Patients with no or low effect for standard cancer treatment
(2) Those who want to ensure the effectiveness of standard cancer treatment
(3) Those who want to reduce the side effects of standard cancer treatment
(4) Those who want to extend the remission period while maintaining good physical condition
(5) Those who want to receive alternative treatment instead of standard cancer treatment
* Combination of therapies is recommended when an
anticancer drug or radiation therapy are effective.

■ Indication disease

Gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, rectal cancer, liver
cancer, pancreatic cancer, kidney cancer, lung cancer,
brain tumor, prostate cancer, Breast cancer, uterine
cancer, ovarian cancer, bladder cancer, leukemia,
multiple myeloma, malignant lymphoma, etc.

■ important point:

This therapy is not applicable for patients with G6PD
deficiency who have an inherited enzyme abnormality in
the erythrocyte membrane.  If you have G6PD
deficiency, please inform your doctor.  In addition, those
who are on dialysis due to renal failure cannot receive
this treatment, either.  If you have heart failure, large
amounts of ascites, or strong edema, you may not be
applicable because water may be infused into the blood
vessel by infusion.

■ Actual treatment

In fact, when the blood concentration of vitamin C
reaches around 350-400mg / dl (22-23mM), a strong
anti-tumor effect is exerted. This concentration is
targeted for High-Concentration Vitamin C Infusion
therapy.
The concentration in the blood is important for vitamin C
to play its role. The target 400 mg / dl concentration
cannot be reached by oral medication; Instead, infusion
becomes necessary for the vitamin C therapy. In fact,
blood is collected immediately after the end of the
infusion to evaluate the concentration of Vitamin C in the
blood. The Vitamin C concentration in blood are
affected by a variety of factors, including the patient's
general physical conditions, cancer spreading
conditions, nutritional status and whether or not
smoking.

● Exam

G6PD gene will be checked for abnormalities and the
renal function will be checked too, to determine whether
treatment is applicable.

● Infusion Frequency and Time

At the beginning, the standard is 2-3 times a week for
the treatment. The same numbers of infusions is given
to those who are used in combination with anticancer
drugs and radiation therapy, or those who are taking this
treatment alone. Generally, 50g or more of vitamin C will
be used by infusion at a time and the infusion time will
vary depending on the dose of vitamin C.  Usually it
takes 1-2 hours.

Recommended medical treatment is based on the
“Standard Program for High Concentration Vitamin C
Infusion Therapy” of the United States.