Some effects of administration of large doses of vitamin C in patients with skin carcinoma

Ten patients with carcinomas of the skin were given 6g of vitamin C daily for one week prior to surgery. Plasma levels in all the patients increased by about 1 mg/dl (range 0.8–1.7 mg/dl). Tumour and normal tissue levels of the vitamin were also higher than those previously reported for patients with skin carcinomas on an ordinary diet. The ratio of tumour tissue to surrounding normal tissue levels was 1.8 in this study compared with a ratio of 2.4 in the previous study. This reduced ratio may be a manifestation of a tendency for the ratio to decrease as normal tissue levels increase. Lastly, both the normal tissue and tumour level of vitamin C correlate with plasma levels of vitamin C.