New Zealand scientists are working on whether something as simple as vitamin C can be used to limit the impact of cancer.
The research has been carried out by Margret Visser from the Christchurch School of Medicine and shows the vitamin has a far more important role in the body than previously thought.
Visser says vitamin C is fundamental in controlling many cell activities, cell death and even the growth of cancer cells in tumours.
She says there is a particular enzyme in the cells that regulates survival and growth, and cell life and death is what underlies a lot of disease mechanisms, in particular cancer.
If the cells do not contain enough vitamin C then these enzymes do not work properly.
Visser says this is not a cure for cancer but she and her team will now focus their research on the vitamin C levels within cancer cells to try to establish a connection.
