Vitamin C in DMSO effective against skin cancer

Dr. Peter F. Mayer, tkp.at

An open clinical study using a simple 30 per cent ascorbic acid solution in DMSO reports complete histological clearance in more than half of the treated lesions of an early skin cancer.

The results fit the mechanism we have already described on TKP several times: highly concentrated vitamin C acts as a pro-oxidant in tumour tissue and produces hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), which preferentially damages diseased cells. Nicolas Hulscher summarised the work on 28 September 2026 on The Focal Points. The underlying preprint study by Patricia Miller, Jon Ward, Michael Morgan and Briant Burke was published on 16 October 2025 on medRxiv (DOI: 10.1101/2025.10.13.25337920). It examined 17 patients with a total of 27 biopsy-confirmed squamous cell carcinomas in situ (SCCIS), that is, carcinomas confined to the epidermis.

Twice daily for twelve weeks, the participants applied a 30 per cent ascorbic acid solution in 95 per cent DMSO and 5 per cent distilled water directly to the lesions with a small brush. DMSO serves here primarily as a penetration enhancer: it temporarily alters the lipid structure of the skin barrier and allows the water-soluble vitamin C to reach the tissue. The authors point out that DMSO itself may have biological effects, but they regard it mainly as a carrier.

After twelve weeks, a repeat biopsy was carried out. The key results:

• In 15 of 27 lesions (56 per cent), no carcinoma was histologically detectable any more.
• 44 per cent of the lesions shrank by more than 85 per cent.
• The mean lesion area fell by 71 per cent, from 1.06 cm² to 0.30 cm².
• Only two lesions (7 per cent) did not respond.
• 16 of 17 patients (94 per cent) were able to avoid surgical excision.
• The treatment was well tolerated; nobody discontinued it because of side effects.

Remaining changes often corresponded merely to actinic atypia without carcinoma and could subsequently be treated with cryotherapy. The authors see in this a possible non-invasive alternative to surgery and call for larger, controlled studies.

Known mechanisms of action

The proposed mechanism of action matches what was already set out on TKP in 2024 and at the beginning of 2026. The article “How vitamin C and its metabolite H2O2 sustain life” described how ascorbic acid, at high local concentrations, forms hydrogen peroxide as a pro-oxidant.

Tumour cells often have lower amounts of catalase and other antioxidant enzymes and are therefore more vulnerable to oxidative stress. Healthy tissue breaks down H₂O₂ more quickly. The same relationship is at the heart of the article “Vitamin C used correctly cures cancer” of 31 January 2026: plasma concentrations above about 13 mmol/l, reached intravenously, generate extracellular H₂O₂, which selectively damages malignant cells, whereas oral doses do not reach this threshold. The topical formulation with DMSO aims to produce precisely such high concentrations locally within the skin tumour, without requiring a systemic infusion.

An earlier, peer-reviewed randomised study by the same research group supports this direction. In 2022, in Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy (DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2022.112710), Burke and Bailie compared the same 30 per cent ascorbic acid–DMSO solution with 5 per cent imiquimod in basal cell carcinomas. After eight weeks, 13 of 15 lesions (86.7 per cent) in the vitamin C group showed complete histological resolution, compared with 8 of 14 (57.1 per cent) under imiquimod. The difference was statistically significant; in the long term, no hypopigmentation occurred under vitamin C, whereas it was frequent under imiquimod.

The new SCCIS study is methodologically weaker: it is open-label, single-arm, small and so far available only as a preprint. There is no control group, and the contribution of DMSO alone is not isolated. Nevertheless, the histological determination of the endpoint is a clear advantage over purely clinical assessments.

Oncology in the service of the pharmaceutical industry

The results fit into a pattern that established oncology has largely ignored since the fundamental studies and scientific findings of Nobel laureate in chemistry Linus Pauling and Ewan Cameron.

High-dose vitamin C is not patentable, is cheap and acts via a physiological metabolite. Whether topical application becomes a reliable first-line treatment for superficial non-melanoma skin cancers must be clarified by larger randomised studies. However, the available data give a concrete reason to keep examining the H₂O₂ mechanism, not only with intravenous administration but also locally.

The efficacy and mechanisms of action of the aprotic polar solvent DMSO have likewise been known for decades and documented thousands of times over. DMSO is just as cheap and just as unpatentable as vitamin C, so the combination is even less welcome than either of the two alone.

More information on DMSO

There is a wealth of knowledge in a whole series of books (all in German):

• DMSO – Das Heilmittel der Natur

• DMSO für Anfänger: Das ultimative DMSO Praxisbuch!

• Medizin zum Selbermachen mit DMSO & Co.: Ihr Gesundheitswerkzeugkasten für zu Hause oder in der Praxis

• DMSO für absolute Einsteiger: Sichere Anwendungen und Dosierungen für häufige Alltagsbeschwerden.

• Daniel Peter Verlag Das DMSO-Handbuch: Verborgenes Heilwissen aus der Natur, hardback, German

DMSO and mixtures can be found in specialist drugstores, pharmacies (which also make up mixtures to order, for example for eye drops) or through mail order:

• 1000ml Dimethylsulfoxid DMSO 99,99% ph. Eur. (echte Pharmaqualität) in Apothekerflasche – (1l; auch erhältlich in 100ml, 250ml & 500ml; pharmazeutische Qualität)
• DMSO 3-prozentig in Natriumchloridlösung 100 ml
• DMSO mit Zechstein-Magnesium-Öl und Borax Spray
• DMSO Creme Dimethylsulfoxid 99,9% Reinheit – in einer hochwertigen Basicreme nach DAC Deutschem Apotheken Codex – im braunen Apotheker Glastiegel – 100ml
• DMSO + Magnesium Öl – 100 ml – Originalrezeptur 60% DMSO Ph. Eur. + 40% Magnesium Ph. Eur. – rein und ohne Konservierungsstoffe
• ANCEVIA DMSO 3 – mit Pipette 30ml – Dimethylsulfoxid-Lösung DMSO Lösung 3% – 99,9% Reinheit Ph. Eur. – Pharmazeutische Qualität – Verdünnte Formel

This book on medicinal mushrooms is also recommended:

• Pilze contra Krebs und andere Erkrankungen

And there is even more on DMSO in TKP:

On protocols for use:

• Therapeutische DMSO-Kombinationen revolutionieren die Heilkunde
• Über die Anwendung von DMSO und wichtigste Wirkungen

DMSO for various areas of application:

• DMSO heilt auch den Darm und kuriert Magen-Darm-Erkrankungen
• Mediterrane Ernährung senkt Risiko für Sehverlust um bis zu 34 Prozent – DMSO für Heilung von Augenerkrankungen
• DMSO für Augen-, Ohren-, Nasen-, Hals- und Zahnerkrankungen
• Studien zeigen Heilung von Rückenmarks-Verletzungen durch DMSO – ignoriert von Wings for Life?
• Über die Anwendung von DMSO und wichtigste Wirkungen
• Wings for Life: DMSO könnte Millionen Menschen bei Hirn- und Rückenmarks-Verletzungen retten
• Wirkungen des vergessenen Heilmittels DMSO gegen Krebs
• DMSO – altes und mächtiges Heilmittel neu entdeckt
• Erstaunliche Heilungen – DMSO gewinnt immer mehr Anhänger
• DMSO – altbekannt für hoch wirksame Behandlungen

Links to earlier TKP articles on the subject can be found below 👇

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• Tipps für spezielle Mischungen von DMSO mit Naturheilstoffen
• So wirken Vitamin C und sein Metabolit H2O2 lebenserhaltend
• Vitamin D das essenzielle Vitamin – bekämpft und missverstanden
• Vitamin C richtig verwendet heilt Krebs

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This article first appeared in German on tkp.at – with kind permission of Dr. Peter F. Mayer.
Cover image: HeungSoon / Pixabay