Radiation-induced gastrointestinal toxicity is highly relevant to the treatment of pancreatic cancer with radiation. To determine if pharmacological ascorbate changes the response of the gastrointestinal tract following radiation in a clinically meaningful way, a crypt cell assay was performed. The addition of pharmacological ascorbate partially reversed the decreases in jejunal crypt regeneration in both the 10 Gy and 13 Gy groups of mice, suggesting that ascorbate may protect the gastrointestinal tract from the damaging effects of radiation. For details, see article by Du and colleagues on page 3314.