Insights on Localized and Systemic Delivery of Redox-Based Therapeutics

Table 1

Preclinical and clinical studies using vitamin C.

Vitamin C
Route	Results	Reference
Preclinical studies
In vitro	Pancreatic cancer cell H2O2 production increases susceptibility to therapeutic effect of vitamin C	[20]
I.P.	Maintaining a 20 mM plasma concentration of vitamin C is optimal to obtain a therapeutic effect from vitamin C in an induced-tumor mouse model	[20]
In vitro	Vitamin C increases intracellular iron uptake in HUVECs as well as in multiple human cancer cell lines	[19]
In vitro	Vitamin C selectively sensitizes non-small-cell lung cancer and glioblastoma cells to radiation and chemotherapy, while increasing labile iron and H2O2 levels	[18]
Clinical studies
1.25 g (oral); 50 g (I.V.)	Orally administered vitamin C unable to maintain therapeutic plasma concentration	[21]
15–125 g; I.V.	High-dose infusion of vitamin C with gemcitabine in stage IV pancreatic cancer patients could achieve stable plasma levels of 20 mM while increasing the mean survival time	[23]
75 g; I.V.	Vitamin C infusions were well tolerated and increased average progression-free survival in glioblastoma patients and control rate of disease in non-small-cell lung cancer patients	[18]

I.P.: intraperitoneal; I.V.: intravenous.