Vitamin C may help reduce toxic side effects of common cancer treatments

A study in mice suggests that taking vitamin C may help counteract muscle wasting, a common side effect of the chemotherapy drug doxorubicin

"Our results suggest that vitamin C, as a potential adjunctive therapy, may aid in the management of peripheral muscle disease following doxorubicin treatment, thereby improving functional capacity and quality of life, and reducing mortality

Doxorubicin is an anthracycline chemotherapy drug that is often used with other chemotherapy drugs to treat breast cancer, bladder cancer, lymphoma, leukemia, and several other cancers

These side effects are thought to be caused by excess production of reactive oxygen species or "free radicals" in the body

In a previous study with the University of Manitoba in Canada, the team found that vitamin C improved markers of heart health and survival in rats given doxorubicin, primarily by reducing oxidative stress and inflammation

The researchers compared skeletal muscle mass and markers of oxidative stress in four groups of rats, 8 to 10 rats in each group

"It was exciting that the preventive and concurrent treatment and maintenance of vitamin C with doxorubicin for the first week and two weeks after the use of doxorubicin was sufficient to attenuate the side effects of this drug in skeletal muscle, resulting in a very positive effect on the health of the study animals," Nascimento Fields say

The scientists noted that further research, including randomized clinical trials, is needed to confirm whether taking vitamin C during doxorubicin treatment is helpful in human patients, and to determine the appropriate dose and timing