Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1.1 9/4/83; site lpi3230.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!mit-eddie!genrad!decvax!ittvax!dcdwest!sdcsvax!sdcrdcf!hplabs!analog!lpi3230!steve From: steve@lpi3230.UUCP (Steve Burbeck) Newsgroups: net.med Subject: Re: unconventional cancer therapy Message-ID: <146@lpi3230.UUCP> Date: Tue, 26-Feb-85 11:51:32 EST Article-I.D.: lpi3230.146 Posted: Tue Feb 26 11:51:32 1985 Date-Received: Mon, 4-Mar-85 07:02:52 EST Expires: Fri, 15-Mar-85 03:00:00 EST Organization: Linus-Pauling Institute, Palo Alto, Calif. Lines: 41 >I had an acquaintance that worked at Linus Pauling's >institute in Stanford. He was totally sold on nutrition >as a preventive and curative for cancer. Linus Pauling Institute is on the net. One of our research interests is the effect of nutrition (particularly ascorbic acid) on cancer. My involvement is in data analysis and statistics rather than biology or medicine. But I can report that a recent large (>800 mice) experiment funded by the National Cancer Institute (suprised, huh?) is now complete. There is a clear, dose related effect of ascorbic acid in the diet. Those groups with larger doses of vitamin C in the diets had (on the average) later onset of cancer and somewhat slower progression (I am deliberately using imprecise terminology here). Projecting from mice to humans is risky at best, in part because mice synthesize their own ascorbic acid, and also because rodent cancer cells in culture are known to show considerable difference from human cancer cells in culture. Nonetheless, the result substantiates the general notion that "simple" dietary supplements such as vitamin C can affect extremely complicated diseases such as cancer. On the other hand, a recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine by a group at the Mayo Clinic heaped scorn on the efficacy of ascorbic acid in the treatment of very advanced colorectal cancer. That study, though not without some serious flaws, showed no effect in treatment with large (10 grams/day) ascorbic acid. To complicate the matter further, another study to be published by this Institute in the next few months shows a positive effect in humans for ascorbic acid treatment of some types of cancer (particularly for colorectal and intestinal) and no effect whatever for others (particularly lung and breast). But this study, too, has some unavoidable flaws. The debate goes on. Learned and presumably honest researchers find wildly differing results. And the press cheers on the battle (it sells newsprint after all). The only clear lesson to me is that the answer is not in. -- lpi3230!steve Steve Burbeck - Linus Pauling Institute ihnp4!pesnta -\ 440 Page Mill Road (415) 327-4064 ucbvax!twg -->!lpi3230!steve Palo Alto, Calif. 94306 hplabs!analog -/