Pilot Trial of Intravenous Vitamin C in Refractory Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL)

Phase II Trial of High Dose Intravenous Vitamin C in Patients With Refractory Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

Eligible candidates will be adults with aggressive or very aggressive NHL (WHO classification diagnosis confirmed by histological tumor examination). Patients must have failed one or more prior NHL chemotherapy or antibody therapy with curative intent, and the disease must not have progressed within 60 days of last therapy. In addition, patients must not be candidates for potentially curative therapy, such as HSCT, or they must have refused these alternative therapies. Full inclusion/exclusion criteria are available. History and physical examination, and laboratory and imaging analyses will be done within 14 days prior to registration. Intravenous ascorbic acid will be given in a dose based on the plasma vitamin C level to reach a level in the range of 300 to 350 mg/dL. Vitamin C infusions will be given three times a week on a schedule that allows at least 24 hours between each infusion, for a total of ten weeks (30 infusions). If disease progression occurs before or at the ten week assessment, then we discontinue protocol, based on futility. Toxicity and adverse events also will result in immediate discontinuation (details available in full protocol). If there is lack of disease progression or disease improvement, proceed and reassess again at 10 week intervals, for a total of three 10 week intervals. Initial criteria are based upon the criteria from the International Workshop to Standardize Criteria for Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (Cheson et al., Report of an international workshop to standardize response criteria for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Journal of Clinical Oncology, 1999, Vol. 17, No4, 1244-1253); response for this study will utilize PET in accordance with revised criteria (Cheson et al. Revised response criteria for malignant lymphoma. J of Clin Oncol 2007; 25(5): 579-586). We select 20 patients as an appropriate study size to evaluate a true response rate to therapy, compared to just the observed response.

Study Overview

• Status: Terminated
• Conditions: Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Intravenous vitamin C

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 2
• Phase: Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Pennsylvania
    • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 19107
      • Jefferson-Myrna Brind Center of Integrative Medicine

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 14 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age greater than 18 years old
• Aggressive or very aggressive NHL
• Failed one or more therapies
• Patients must not have progressed within 60 days of last therapy
• Not received allogeneic stem cell transplant
• No reasonable standard therapeutic options available
• Glucose 6 phosphate dehydrogenase status normal
• ECOG performance status 0-2
• Normal creatinine and transaminase
• Women of child-bearing potential confirm negative pregnancy test

Exclusion Criteria:

• Significant co-morbid disorders
• Significant psychiatric symptoms
• Smoking
• Excessive alcohol or drug use
• Enrollment in other experimental therapy
• Active infection
• Patients experiencing ongoing response to recent treatments
• Patients who have received chemotherapy within 30 days or biological therapy within 6 weeks

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: 1; Intravenous vitamin C	Drug: Intravenous vitamin C; Up to 100 gms of intravenous vitamin C, three times per week for 10 weeks.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Progression-free Survival	10 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Duration of Response	10 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Daniel Monti, MD, faculty member

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: February 1, 2008
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 1, 2011
• Study Completion (Actual): December 1, 2011

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 21, 2008
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 28, 2008
• First Posted (Estimated): February 29, 2008

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 16, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 14, 2025
• Last Verified: May 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Neoplasms; Immune System Diseases; Neoplasms by Histologic Type; Lymphatic Diseases; Lymphoproliferative Disorders; Immunoproliferative Disorders; Lymphoma; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin; Physiological Effects of Drugs; Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action; Protective Agents; Micronutrients; Vitamins; Antioxidants; Ascorbic Acid
• Other Study ID Numbers: 07U.21; JT 1201 (Other Identifier: JeffTrial Number)