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The doctors will begin their clinical trials to prove the theory if high dose of Vitamin C should be administered along with regular medication to enhance the survival rates among cancer patients. Researchers in the new study found that when lab mice were injected with high doses of vitamin C, the growth of the tumor was reduced between 41% and 53%. The vitamin was directly injected into the bloodstream because just like humans, animals too can only absorb limited amount of vitamin C from the food. In the study, published in the Proceedings of national academy of Sciences, Mark Levine from National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases in Maryland injected the mice, with acute brain, pancreatic and ovarian cancers, very large doses of vitamin C. This injection caused the growth rate of the tumor to drop by 50%, reports The Guardian.

While the news is certainly exhilarating, the treatment of cancer with high doses of vitamin C has been around for many decades. It was first proposed by two-time Nobel Laureate, Linus Pauling back in 1972. While Pauling's efforts were not recognized because he was not a clinician, today the authors of the finding say that they now have firm basis for human trials. In the experiment, the vitamin C injection will be used in conjunction with the conventional medication. This treatment will be for the most lethal tumors such as ovarian, brain and pancreatic cancer. Even though the study seems promising, Cancer Research in UK warns that so far there is no evidence that Vitamin C injections can actually help in curing cancer. In fact, too high a dose can render the ongoing treatment less effective, says The Guardian.