The EACR’s Top 10 Cancer Research Publications is a regular summary of the most interesting and impactful recent papers in cancer research. It is curated by the Board of the European Association for Cancer Research (EACR).
The list below appears in no particular order, and the summary information has been provided by the authors.
Use the dropdown menu or ‘Previous’ and ‘Next’ buttons to navigate the list.
A. Magrì et al. Sci Transl Med. 2020 Feb 26;12(532):eaay8707
Summary of the findings
Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid) is an essential dietary nutrient, and its chronic deficiency contributes to impaired immunity. The anticancer effect of VitC has been investigated for decades with controversial results. While several studies have tested the efficacy of combining VitC with chemotherapy or targeted agents, the potential of combining VitC with immune modulators for anticancer purposes has not been explored.
In this Science Translational Medicine paper, Magrì and colleagues analyzed the possibility that VitC could exert its effects not only directly on tumor cells but also through modulation of anti-tumor immunity. The authors found that a fully competent immune system is required to maximize the anti-proliferative effect of VitC against several types of mouse tumors including breast, colorectal, melanoma and pancreatic cancers. When administered at high-dose, VitC increased the arrival at the tumor site of immune cells and delayed cancer growth. Excitingly, treatment with VitC improved the efficacy of immunotherapies. The combination was particularly effective against a subset of tumors, molecularly classified as microsatellite unstable or mismatch repair deficient. In conclusion the study of Magrì and colleagues shows that VitC can stimulate anticancer adaptive immunity and improves the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors.
Future impact of the findings
In the late 70’ Ewan Cameron (a physician) and dr Linus Pauling (winner of the chemistry Nobel prize) first reported that concomitant intravenous and oral supplementation of VitC prolonged survival of terminal cancer patients. These findings were not confirmed when VitC was given only orally. The discrepant results may be explained by subsequent studies revealing that the administration route strongly affects VitC pharmacokinetics. The study by Magrì and colleagues supports these concepts and shows that VitC can be effective in mice when administered intravenously with immune modulators. These results support the design of clinical trials combining VitC and immunotherapy.
