New Study Reveals Vitamin C as Potential Melanoma Treatment

Melanoma is a very dangerous skin cancer caused by the uncontrolled growth of cells that produce melanin. These cells are also known as melanocytes. It needs proper diagnosis and proper treatment. Healthcare professionals use eleslomol to treat people with melanoma. It is an effective treatment for this cancer. But researchers from the University of South Florida have conducted a study and revealed another effective treatment for melanoma. They have found that using vitamin C (Ascorbate) effectively increases damage of DNA in melanoma cells and destroys them.  

This study was recently published in the journal Free Radical Biology and Medicine. Melanoma cancer cells contain more DNA damage and very few antioxidants as c compared to healthy skin cells. In this study, researchers added hydrogen peroxide and vitamin C to these cancer cells. 

When researchers observed these cells, they found that vitamin C and hydrogen peroxide damaged their DNA very rapidly. They destroyed them after a certain point. On the other hand, they did not harm normal skin cells. Researchers also found that vitamin C improved the effectiveness of a drug used to treat this cancer. It is known as elesclomol. This drug worked very effectively in addition to vitamin C.  

One of the researchers said that there is a need for further research to understand more about the effectiveness and benefits of Vitamin C. He also said vitamin C is safe for human health. So, vitamin C can effectively treat melanoma without causing any side effects. He also suggested that healthcare professionals should consider these findings while treating people with this cancer. It will increase the effectiveness of existing treatments. It can save many lives.  

The results of this study clearly show that vitamin C can effectively treat melanoma as it destroys cancer cells. So, Healthcare professionals should start using it to treat people with melanoma cancer effectively.   

Reference Link: 

Hishyar A. Najeeb et al, Redox modulation of oxidatively-induced DNA damage by ascorbate enhances both in vitro and ex-vivo DNA damage formation and cell death in melanoma cells, Free Radical Biology and Medicine (2024). 

 DOI: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2024.01.019