High-dose chemotherapy with frozen autologous marrow transplantation in patients with poor-prognosis tumors.

One hundred and ninety patients with poor-prognosis tumors, mainly advanced solid cancers were treated with a first course of high-dose chemotherapy. One hundred nine of them received frozen autologous bone marrow transplantation (FABMT) a total of 160 times. Thirty-four of the 109 patients were given a second course, and five of the 34 received a third course followed by FABMT.

Enhancement of antitumor activity of ascorbate against Ehrlich ascites tumor cells by the copper:glycylglycylhistidine complex.

Ascorbate in an aqueous solution is easily oxidized by molecular oxygen in the presence of cupric ion, thus producing reactive oxygen species and exhibiting cytotoxicity. In order to increase the antitumor activity of ascorbate, we used the innocuous form of cupric ion complexed with glycylglycylhistidine, a tripeptide designed to mimic the specific Cu(II) transport site of albumin molecule. Although this square planar copper:glycylglycylhistidine complex did not significantly oxidize ascorbate at pH 7.

Influence of oral supplementation of ascorbate upon the induction of N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine.

Influence of mega-ascorbate (AsA) intake upon the induction of gastric cancer of rats was investigated. By feeding the ascorbate-supplemented diet, though the incidence of gastric cancer was not effectively inhibited, the infiltrative growth was significantly repressed. Mega-ascorbate intake was more beneficial in alleviating the development of gastric cancer when it was commenced after the middle of long-term experimental period (initiation of adenomatous hyperplasia but no appearance of malignant lesions) rather than from the beginning of N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) drinking.

Prolongation of survival times of terminal cancer patients by administration of large doses of ascorbate.

Clinical trials administering supplemental ascorbate to terminal cancer patients were conducted at two hospitals in Japan. During the period 1973-1977 there were 99 patients with terminal cancer at the Fukuoka Torikai Hospital. The average times of survival after the date of designation as terminal were 43 days for 44 low-ascorbate patients and 246 days for 55 high-ascorbate patients.