Impact of combining vitamin C with radiation therapy in human breast cancer: does it matter?

Vitamin C may impact the efficiency of radiation therapy (RT) in breast cancer. The effects of RT alone or in combination with vitamin C in SKBR3, MDA-MB-231, and MCF7 cells were compared using clonogenic assay, proliferation assay (MTT), cell cycle analysis, and Western blot. Vitamin C use was assessed in 1803 breast cancer patients 2002–2017 in relation to clinicopathological features and recurrences after RT. Vitamin C combined with RT resulted in non-significant increases in colony formation and minor differences in cell cycle arrest and expression of studied proteins, compared to RT alone. Lower vitamin C doses alone or in combination with RT, resulted in higher proliferation with MTT than higher vitamin C doses in a cell line-dependent manner. Vitamin C use was associated with lower histological grade and BMI but not recurrence risk in RT-treated patients (LogRank P = 0.54). Vitamin C impacted RT efficiency differently depending on breast cancer subtype and vitamin C concentration. Lower doses of vitamin C, achievable with oral administration, might increase breast cancer cell proliferation and decrease radiosensitivity. Despite vitamin C users having less aggressive tumors than non-users, the recurrence risk in RT-treated patients was similar in vitamin C users and non-users.