Researchers at the University of Salford in the U.K. found that using vitamin C inhibited the growth of cancer cells in the laboratory. Vitamin C also showed a potency that was 10 times higher than the experimental drug 2-DG in the process, researchers said. The findings were published in the journal Oncotarget.

Cancer remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the disease is the second most common cause of death and disease around the world, accounting for nearly nine million deaths in 2015 alone. Data shows that new cases of cancer are expected to surge by around 70 percent in the next two decades.