Sepsis, Cancer, Acute Illness and Intravenous Vitamin C – A First-Time Medical Conference!

Sat, 04 Jun 2016 04:16:56 +0000

Two days ago I interviewed Dr. Jeanne Drisko, MD from University of Kansas Medical Center and Director of their Integrative Medicine Department on their upcoming, first-ever, conference on the use of”Intravenous Vitamin C” in cancer, sepsis and acute illness. I have provided the speaker schedule and their probable topics below, along with peer review scientific references on their work with vitamin C, cancer, sepsis and acute illness. ( Listen to my previous ALL my podcasts with Dr. Drisko on Intravenous Vitamin C and Cancer ).

What makes this conference unique, aside from it being the first-ever conference focused strictly on intravenous vitamin C and acute illness, is that it also includes research on intravenous vitamin C’s role in reducing the severity of sepsis in the intensive care unit. A medical problem that results in organ failure and death. This is the work of Dr. Alpha Fowler head of the pulmonary medicine division at Virginia Commonwealth University, and critical care specialist who has studied sepsis for 2 decades ( see my Expert Interview with Dr. Fowler on his study of sepsis and vitamin C ). I believe his work is the “100th” monkey of vitamin C research. What I mean by this even though, as you will see below, there is ample scientific evidence that intravenous vitamin C has some benefit as an adjunctive cancer therapy, Dr. Fowler and colleagues research will show that intravenous vitamin C has benefits in severe, life threatening, in-hospital illness and I believe intravenous vitamin C’s use in other conditions will be more easily studied and benefits confirm. I have always believed that intravenous nutrients, vitamin C included, will have their most powerful benefit when given IV for acute illness like sepsis, viral infections, pneumonias, poisonings, insect and animal bits, hepatitis, severe burns, trauma, etc. Some day the work of Dr. Frederick Klenner, MD from the 1940s to 70s will be confirmed for many severe illnesses.

The keynote speaker will be Dr. Mark Levine from the National Institutes of Health on many aspects of the use of high dose intravenous vitamin C in acute illness and especially cancer. This is not fringe, alternative medicine. This is cutting edge, progressive, science-based “real medicine.”

Listen to my podcast with Dr. Drisko (Here). Share it with people you love, or your health care provider. This is powerful, well researched medicine, using a very cheap, non-patentable compound (vitamin C) that given intravenously could save thousands, if not millions of lives, and reduce human suffering significantly and medical expenditures.

Kirk’s YouTube overview of his interview with Jeanne Drisko, MD (7:23)
“Intravenous Vitamin C – Integrative Therapies” a first-time conference sponsored by the University of Kansas Medical Center Department of Integrative Medicine and the University of Kansas Medical Center Continuing Education and Professional Development will be held on September 30 – October 1, 2016. ( See Conference Flyer ). You can register online at www.KUMC.edu/VitaminC .

This conference will focus on the science and clinical use of intravenous vitamin C as an adjunctive cancer treatment along with chemo and radiation therapies, and discuss research on its safe and beneficial use in treating and preventive sepsis in the ICU setting.

The following is the list of speakers over the two day conference and medical references supporting their topic of discussion and their work.

Friday, September 30, 2016

Qi Chen, Ph.D. (8:30 a.m. ) “ High-dose parenteral ascorbate enchanced chemosensitivity of ovarian cancer and reduced toxicity of chemotherapy . S cience Translational Medicine. 2014, 6, 222ra18.” “ Pharmacologic doses of ascorbate act as a pro-oxidant and decrease growth of aggressive tumor xenografts in mice . Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2008; 105 (32): 11105-9.

Lewis Cantley, M.D. (9:30 a.m.) “ Vitamin C selectively kills KRAS and BRAF mutant colorectal cancer cells by targeting GAPDH .” Science. 2015 Dec 11;350(6266):1391-6.

Daniel Monti, M.D. (11:00 a.m.) “ Synergistic effects of ascorbate and sorafenib in hepatocellular carcinoma: New insights into ascorbate cytotoxicity .” Free Radic Biol Med. 2016 Jun;95:308-22.” “ Phase I evaluation of intravenous ascorbic acid in combination with gemcitabine and erlotinib in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer .” PLoS One. 2012;7(1):e29794.”

Luncheon Panel Discussion: Lewis Cantley, Keynote Speaker Mark Levine, Qi Chen, Dan Monti – Moderator Jeanne Drisko

Mark Levine, M.D. (1:00 p.m. Keynote Speaker) – “ Synergistic effects of ascorbate and sorafenib in hepatocellular carcinoma: New insights into ascorbate cytotoxicity . ” Free Radic Biol Med. 2016 Jun;95:308-22.; “ Low Red Blood Cell Vitamin C Concentrations Induce Red Blood Cell Fragility: A Link to Diabetes Via Glucose, Glucose Transporters, and Dehydroascorbic Acid . ” EBioMedicine. 2015 Oct 3;2(11):1735-50.; Vitamin C: the known, the unknown, and Goldilocks. Oral Dis. 2016 Jan 25. doi: 10.1111/odi.12446. [Epub ahead of print]; “ Antitumor effect of pharmacologic ascorbate in the B16 murine melanoma model .” Free Radic Biol Med. 2015 Oct;87:193-203.; “ High-dose ascorbate with low-dose amphotericin B attenuates severity of disease in a model of the reappearance of candidemia during sepsis in the mouse . ”   Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2015 Aug  1;309(3):R223-34.“ High-dose parenteral ascorbate enhanced chemosensitivity of ovarian cancer and reduced toxicity of chemotherapy . ” Sci Transl Med. 2014 Feb 5;6(222):222ra18; “ The human sodium-dependent ascorbic acid transporters SLC23A1 and SLC23A2 do not mediate ascorbic acid release in the proximal renal epithelial cell . ” Physiol Rep. 2013 Nov;1(6):e00136; “ Parenteral ascorbate as a cancer therapeutic: a reassessment based on pharmacokinetics . ” Antioxid Redox Signal. 2013 Dec 10;19(17):2141-56; “ Standard-dose vs high-dose multivitamin supplements for HIV .” JAMA. 2013 Feb 13;309(6):545-6.; “ Pharmacological ascorbate with gemcitabine for the control of metastatic and node-positive pancreatic cancer (PACMAN): results from a phase I clinical trial. ” Cancer Chemother Pharmacol. 2013 Mar;71(3):765-75.; “ Ascorbic acid kills Epstein-Barr virus positive Burkitt lymphoma cells and Epstein-Barr virus transformed B-cells in vitro, but not in vivo . ” Leuk Lymphoma. 2013 May;54(5):1069-78.;” Vitamin C in mouse and human red blood cells: an HPLC assay . ” Anal Biochem. 2012 Jul 15;426(2):109-17.; “ Vitamin C: a concentration-function approach yields pharmacology and therapeutic discoveries . ” Adv Nutr. 2011 Mar;2(2):78-88.; “ Phase I evaluation of intravenous ascorbic acid in combination with gemcitabine and erlotinib in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer . ” PLoS One. 2012;7(1):e29794.; “ Pharmacologic ascorbate synergizes with gemcitabine in preclinical models of pancreatic cancer . ” Free Radic Biol Med. 2011 Jun 1;50(11):1610-9.; “ Vitamin C: intravenous use by complementary and alternative medicine practitioners and adverse effects. ” PLoS One. 2010 Jul 7;5(7):e11414. “ Pharmacological ascorbic acid suppresses syngeneic tumor growth and metastases in hormone-refractory prostate cancer . ” In Vivo. 2010 May-Jun;24(3):249-55.

Jeanne Drisko, M.D. (2:30 p.m. – Topic: ” ‘Clinical Pearls’ and practical application of administering intravenous vitamin C in the clinical setting. “ High-dose parenteral ascorbate enhanced chemosensitivity of ovarian cancer and reduced toxicity of chemotherapy . ” Sci Transl Med. 2014 Feb 5;6(222):222ra18.; “ Pharmacological ascorbate induces cytotoxicity in prostate cancer cells through ATP depletion and induction of autophagy . ” Anticancer Drugs. 2012 Apr;23(4):437-44. ( Listen to ALL my other podcasts with Dr. Drisko on Intravenous Vitamin C and Cancer )

Alpha Fowler, M.D. (3:30 p.m. -– Topic: Use of Vitamin C in Sepsis) Phase I safety trial of intravenous ascorbic acid in patients with severe sepsis J Transl Med. 2014; 12: 32. ( Expert Interview with Dr. Fowler )

Ramesh Nataragan, Ph.D. (4:30 p.m. – Topic: How Vitamin C Works in the Septic Patient): “ Ascorbate-dependent vasopressor synthesis: a rationale for vitamin C administration in severe sepsis and septic shock ?” Crit Care. 2015 Nov 27;19:418.

Saturday, October 1, 2016

Joseph Cullen, M.D. (8:30 a.m.) “ Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer with Pharmacological Ascorbate .” Curr Pharm Biotechnol. 2015;16(9):759-70. 51302

G ary Buettner, Ph.D. (9:30 am.) “ Ascorbic acid: chemistry, biology and the treatment of cancer .” Biochim Biophys Acta (2012) 1826(2):443–57.

John Hoffer, M.D. (10:30 a.m.) “ A simple method for plasma total vitamin C analysis suitable for routine clinical laboratory use ” Nutr J. 2015; 15: 40. “ High-Dose Vitamin C Promotes Regression of Multiple Pulmonary Metastases Originating from Hepatocellular Carcinoma ” Yonsei Med J. 2015 September 1; 56(5): 1449–1452. “ High-Dose Intravenous Vitamin C Combined with Cytotoxic chemotherapy in Patients with Advanced Cancer: A Phase I-II Clinical Trial ”  PLoS One. 2015; 10(4): e0120228. “ Is There a Role for Oral or Intravenous Ascorbate (Vitamin C) in Treating Patients With Cancer? A Systematic Review ,” Oncologist. 2015 February; 20(2): 210–223.

Be and Stay Well,

Kirk

You may call Kirk Hamilton PA-C Monday thru Friday 8-9 a.m. PST at 916-489-4400 for brief medical questions at Health Associates Medical Group. ( for information about Health Associates go to KwikerMedical.com and StayingHealthyToday.com )

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