Vitamin C: Intravenous Use

Preliminary evidence of benefit

• Preliminary evidencesignificant effects in small or poorly designed clinical studies OR conflicting results in adequate studies but a preponderance of evidence of an effect (this is the CancerChoices definition; other researchers and studies may define this differently) of longer survival among radiotherapy-resistant people with bone metastases treated with intravenous ascorbic acid
• Preliminary evidence of longer survival after chemotherapy among women with advanced breast cancer treated with intravenous vitamin C
• Preliminary evidence of substantially higher rate of complete remission and longer overall survival after chemotherapy among elderly people with acute myeloid leukemia treated with low-dose intravenous vitamin C
• Preliminary evidence of higher objective response ratepercentage of patients whose disease decreased after treatment to carboplatin and paclitaxel among people with chemotherapy-naïve advanced non-small cell lung cancer treated with intravenous ascorbate

No evidence of an effect

• No evidenceoverall, one or more studies did not demonstrate that a treatment or intervention had the described effect of an objective anticancer response among people with advanced cancer as a whole treated with intravenous vitamin C, whether with or without chemotherapy, in small uncontrolled trialsa study in which a therapy is used, but without a comparison group against which to judge outcomes; an uncontrolled trial is considered a weak study design
• No evidence of antitumor responses among people with advanced solid tumors refractory to standard therapy treated with intravenous ascorbic acid in a small uncontrolled trial
• No evidence of anticancer effects among people with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer treated with infusions of ascorbic acid in an uncontrolled trial

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What is your body terrain? ›

Modest or preliminary evidence of benefit

• Preliminary evidencesignificant effects in small or poorly designed clinical studies OR conflicting results in adequate studies but a preponderance of evidence of an effect (this is the CancerChoices definition; other researchers and studies may define this differently) of higher markers of immune activation after autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation among people with blood cancer treated with 20 g intravenous vitamin C, but no evidence of an effectoverall, one or more studies did not demonstrate that a treatment or intervention led to an expected outcome; this does not always mean that there is no effect in clinical practice, but that the studies may have been underpowered (too few participants) or poorly designed. Larger, well-designed studies provide more confidence in making assessments. with 70 mg vitamin C
• Preliminary evidence of higher total white blood cell (lymphocyte) counts among people with cancer and low lymphocyte counts (lymphopenia) treated with intravenous vitamin C
• Preliminary evidence of some higher markers of immune function among people with septic shock (not specific to cancer) treated with intravenous vitamin C
• Preliminary evidence of a smaller rise in a marker of inflammation after atrial fibrillation ablation (not specific to cancer) among people treated with intravenous ascorbic acid
• Modest evidence of lower markers of oxidative stressan imbalance between free radicals and antioxidants in your body in which antioxidant levels are lower than normal; this imbalance can cause harmful oxidation reactions in your body chemistry during surgery or a mentally stressful task among people treated with intravenous vitamin C (not specific to cancer)

No evidence of an effect

• No evidence of an effectoverall, one or more studies did not demonstrate that a treatment or intervention led to an expected outcome; this does not always mean that there is no effect in clinical practice, but that the studies may have been underpowered (too few participants) or poorly designed. Larger, well-designed studies provide more confidence in making assessments. on inflammation among people with sepsis (not specific to cancer) treated with intravenous vitamin C

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Good or modest evidence of benefit

• Modest evidencesignificant effects in at least three small but well-designed randomized controlled trials (RCTs), or one or more well-designed, mid-sized clinical studies of reasonably good quality (RCTs or observational studies), or several small studies aggregated into a meta-analysis (this is the CancerChoices definition; other researchers and studies may define this differently) of less loss of appetite during standard cancer treatment among women with breast cancer treated with intravenous vitamin C
• Modest evidence of less fatigue during conventional cancer treatment among people with cancer treated with intravenous vitamin C
• Modest evidence of less nausea during standard cancer treatment among women with breast cancer treated with intravenous vitamin C
• Modest evidence of less pain during or after cancer treatment among people with cancer treated with intravenous vitamin C
• Modest evidence of less insomnia during standard cancer treatment among people with cancer, mostly breast cancer, treated with intravenous vitamin C
• Good evidencesignificant effects in one large or several mid-sized and well-designed clinical studies (randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with an appropriate placebo or other strong comparison control or observational studies that control for confounds) (this is the CancerChoices definition; other researchers and studies may define this differently) of lower mortality and better SOFA scores, which are the sum of respiratory status, liver function, renal function, coagulation function, circulatory status, and nervous system score, among people with sepsis treated with IV vitamin C (not specific to cancer)

Preliminary evidence of benefit

• Preliminary evidencesignificant effects in small or poorly designed clinical studies OR conflicting results in adequate studies but a preponderance of evidence of an effect (this is the CancerChoices definition; other researchers and studies may define this differently) of less nausea, vomiting, constipation, and liver or kidney dysfunction during chemotherapy among women with advanced triple-negative breast cancer treated with intravenous vitamin C
• Preliminary evidence of less toxicity from paclitaxel/carboplatin treatment among people with ovarian cancer treated with high-dose intravenous ascorbate
• Preliminary evidence of fewer blood-related side effects, including bleeding or bruising, anemia, leukopenia, or thrombocytopenia, among people, mostly with breast cancer, treated with intravenous vitamin C
• Preliminary evidence of lower blood pressure among normotensive people with infection, cancer, or fatigue treated with intravenous vitamin C
• Preliminary evidence of less depression among people with cancer treated with intravenous vitamin C
• Preliminary evidence of less hair loss during chemotherapy among women with advanced breast cancer treated with intravenous vitamin C
• Preliminary evidence of less peripheral neurotoxicity during chemotherapy among women with advanced triple-negative breast cancer treated with intravenous vitamin C
• Preliminary evidence of less dizziness during standard tumor therapy among women with breast cancer treated with intravenous vitamin C
• Preliminary evidence of higher quality of life and improved physical and role function during or after cancer treatment among people with cancer treated with intravenous vitamin C
• Preliminary evidence of less rash during chemotherapy among women with advanced triple-negative breast cancer treated with intravenous vitamin C

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We did not find any published research investigating intravenous use of vitamin C to reduce cancer risk.

• Not mentioned in integrative cancer clinical practice guidelines
• Used in several of our program sources

See How do experts use intravenous vitamin C? ›

• Moderate caution is needed due to rare but serious side effects.
• IV vitamin C may interact with other treatments.
• Supervision by a medical professional is highly recommended.

See Safety and precautions ›

• Intravenous vitamin C requires a prescription.
• Moderately expensive to expensive (between $2000 US and $10,000 US), depending on the number of treatments

See Affordability and access ›