High-Dose Intravenous Vitamin C Treatment of a Child with Neurofibromatosis Type 1 and Optic Pathway Glioma: A Case Report

Abstract

Patient: Male, 1Final Diagnosis: Optic gliomaSymptoms: Visual problemsMedication: —Clinical Procedure: Intravenous vitamin CSpecialty: OncologyObjective:Unusual clinical courseBackground:In neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) disease, the loss of the tumor suppressor function of the neurofibromin gene leads to proliferation of neural tumors. In children, the most frequently identified tumor is the optic pathway glioma.Case Report:We describe the case of a 5-year-old child who was diagnosed with NF1 and optic pathway tumor onset at the age of 14 months. Because of the tumor progression, chemotherapy with carboplatin and vincristine was prescribed at this early age and continued for one year. As the progression of disease continued after chemotherapy, the child, at the age of 2.8 years, was started on high-dose intravenous vitamin C (IVC) treatment (7–15 grams per week) for 30 months. After 30 months, the results of IVC treatments demonstrated reduction and stabilization of the tumors in the optic chiasm, hypothalamus, and left optic nerve according to radiographic imaging. The right-sided optic nerve mass seen before IVC treatment disappeared by the end of the treatment.Conclusions:This case highlights the positive effects of treating NF1 glioma with IVC. Additional studies are necessary to evaluate the role of high-dose IVC in glioma treatment.

Metabolic resuscitation in pediatric sepsis: a narrative review

“…The median ascorbic acid dose was 260 mg/kg/day and ranged from 100 to 1,500 mg/kg/day. Similar to the systematic review on adult patients, the safety related to high dose ascorbic acid in children and neonates was very high with no adverse event associated with ascorbic acid reported (55)(56)(57)(58)(59)(60).…”

The Role of 2-Oxoglutarate Dependent Dioxygenases in Gliomas and Glioblastomas: A Review of Epigenetic Reprogramming and Hypoxic Response

“…Since then, pharmacokinetic data have demonstrated that infusion results in supra-physiological plasma ascorbate levels that are not achievable by oral administration (226)(227)(228)(229). Case studies and small clinical trials continue to surface that suggest there may be circumstances under which high dose ascorbate infusion can provide a clinical benefit (230)(231)(232)(233)(234)(235)(236)(237)(238)(239).…”

“…A trend of improved overall survival was reported, but participant numbers were too small to determine statistical significance ( 240 ). Two case reports for the use of HDVC infusions in patients with glioma have also been reporting ( 237 , 246 ).…”

Vitamin C Transporters and Their Implications in Carcinogenesis

“…Nonetheless, a meta-analysis by Zhou et al indicated that vitamin C intake may help to diminish the chance of glioma incidence [ 126 ]. Moreover, several studies indicated that, in glioma patients, intravenous supplementation may successfully serve as an adjuvant tumor therapy and significantly increase survival, as well as reduce and stabilize the tumor [ 127 , 128 ].…”