Ascorbic acid metabolism and cancer in the human stomach

The high levels of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) which are maintained in the gastric mucosa and in normal gastric juice suggest that the vitamin has a metabolic role within the stomach. Epidemiological associations between foods containing vitamin C and a reduced risk of gastric cancer together with the ability of ascorbate to quench the mutagenic activity of reactive species produced in the gastric environment, indicate a potential role in the prevention of carcinogenesis. This short review assess the balance of the current evidence and indicates that gastric ascorbate could provide some protection against the development of gastric cancer. However, it is only depletion of ascorbate from the gastric lumen that is likely to contribute significantly to increased risk of malignancy.