Vitamin C deficiency may inhibit immune system’s ability to combat leukaemia

An apple a day may keep the doctor away, but a glass of juice could keep you out of a cancer ward. Research involving mice has linked vitamin C deficiency to leukemia.

It’s not the first time low vitamin C has been tied to serious health issues.

 “Since the times of Captain Cook, it has been widely known that dietary intake of fresh fruit and produce is essential to prevent scurvy, the disease associated with vitamin C deficiency,” says an Associate Professor.

Now two new studies published have figured out how such a deficiency also damages the body’s ability to suppress blood tumour development.

VITAL INGREDIENT

“Low vitamin C levels are linked to higher death rates from cancer and early clinical trials using massive intravenous doses of vitamin C showed some remarkable benefits,” says Associate Professor. “But these and other reports were silenced by more carefully designed, yet flawed, trials in the late ’70s.”

This new research could reignite the hope vitamin C could help cancer sufferers.

Unlike humans, mice make their own vitamin C inside their bodies. So, first, researchers had to genetically engineer them to only get it from their food.

Those mice with low vitamin C intakes had an unusually high count of stem cells in their blood and bone marrow, reduced immune system resistance to tumours and higher rates of developing leukemia.

And once the mice with leukemia were given extra vitamin C, the rate of the blood cancer’s spread slowed.

BLOOD BALANCE

“Leukemia is the classical disease where the control of blood production goes awry,” says Associate Professor. “Too many blood cells build up in the blood, bone marrow and other organs. We know that most leukemia is actually caused by genetic changes ... (which) cause the blood cell to grow uncontrollably and/or prevent the blood cells from dying.”

At the centre of the discovery is an immune system tumour-suppressor enzyme called Tet2 which controls a variety of processes within bone marrow and blood cells related to the production of new cells. Lack of vitamin C reduces the activity of this enzyme which, in turn, promotes the development of leukemia.

Whether or not the process could be applicable in people was tested on human stem cells. These reacted to vitamin C in the same way mouse cells did.

“Vitamin C supplementation might even benefit the one in 50 healthy elderly who have loss of Tet2 activity, putting them at a high risk of death from leukemia as well as heart disease,” Prof.  says.

DIET TUNE-UP

“Most of us accept the link between dietary intake and diseases such as heart attacks and cancer, but these results show us how finely balanced the human body really can be,” Dr. says.

So should you rush out and buy vitamin C supplements?

“Clearly such a recommendation is premature,” he says. “True vitamin C deficiency is exceedingly rare in a privileged developed nation.”

There is as yet no suggestion that supplementing chemotherapy or other treatments with vitamin C has any benefit for patients with leukemia. Carefully designed and controlled human clinical trials are needed to assess that.

“Rather, this work reinforces the general advice that a healthy, balanced diet containing the recommended intake of essential minerals and vitamins is the best way to keep your body functioning normally, and to recover after life changing diseases such as cancer,” Dr.  says.

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