Vitamin C raised blood levels after transplant; complication benefits remain uncertain
A small placebo-controlled trial corrected vitamin C levels, but did not demonstrate fewer transplant complications.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
In this pilot trial, vitamin C supplementation raised plasma vitamin C levels in adults receiving donor stem cell transplants. Trends toward less acute graft-versus-host disease and milder or shorter oral mucositis were not statistically significant. Correcting the blood measurement therefore did not establish better clinical recovery, and larger trials are needed.
The trial was small, and the abstract provides no confidence intervals for complication differences. No significant adverse events were reported, which cannot establish safety across larger or different patient groups.
What researchers found
Acute graft-versus-host disease
Vitamin C versus placebo during monitoring through day +100 after transplant; the difference was not statistically significant.
Blood levels and recovery differ
The study separated a biochemical outcome from clinical outcomes: plasma vitamin C levels increased, while complications remained uncertain. This distinction matters because replenishing a measured nutrient level does not itself demonstrate recovery benefits.
A specialist treatment setting
Participants first received intravenous supplementation and then oral supplementation, with placebo following the same sequence. The findings apply to this specialist transplant setting and do not evaluate routine vitamin use in otherwise healthy people.
The original publication
High-dose vitamin C supplementation in patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: A pilot randomized, triple-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
Heidari S, Shahrami B, Rad S et al.
Support Care Cancer · 2026
- PubMed ID
- 41692856
- Record checked
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