Scientists from the University of Minnesota have found a new way to boost the body’s natural defenses against cancer. Their research shows that a common vitamin—vitamin B3—can make a big difference in how well our immune cells fight the disease. This discovery could open up new options for treating blood cancers that are hard to cure, such as leukemia and lymphoma.
Our bodies have special cells called natural killer cells. These cells are like tiny soldiers that search for and destroy harmful cells, including cancer cells. In the past, doctors have tried using natural killer cells to treat blood cancers.
However, the results have not always been good. Some patients, especially those whose cancer had already stopped responding to standard treatments, did not improve much. Scientists knew they needed a way to make these natural killer cells stronger and better at their job.
This is where vitamin B3 comes in. Vitamin B3, also known as nicotinamide, is a nutrient that helps our bodies turn food into energy. It has been known for a long time to be important for good health. In the 1930s, scientists discovered that a lack of vitamin B3 could cause a serious illness called pellagra.
People with pellagra suffered from skin problems, diarrhea, and even dementia. Thankfully, doctors learned that simply adding vitamin B3 to the diet could prevent this disease.
In this new study, scientists treated natural killer cells with vitamin B3 in the lab. They found that after this treatment, the cells became stronger and better at finding and killing cancer cells. The vitamin also helped protect the natural killer cells from getting damaged, allowing them to live longer in the body and stay active against cancer for a longer time.
The researchers didn’t stop there. They combined the vitamin-treated natural killer cells with another medicine that also fights cancer. They then tested this new combination in 30 patients with tough-to-treat blood cancers.
The results were very encouraging. Among 19 patients who had a difficult type of lymphoma, 11 patients completely recovered within just 28 days after the treatment. Another three patients showed partial recovery. Importantly, the treatment was found to be safe.
This is a big step forward because it shows that a simple and safe vitamin could help make cancer treatments much more powerful. Using vitamins to help immune cells do their job better is a new and exciting idea. It offers hope, especially for people whose cancers do not respond to regular treatments.
The next step is to test this approach in bigger studies with more patients. If future tests confirm these early results, doctors could one day use vitamin B3 to make natural killer cell treatments much more effective. This could give many patients a better chance of beating their cancer.
The full study was published in Science Translational Medicine.
If you care about cancer, please read studies about a new method to treat cancer effectively, and this low-dose, four-drug combo may block cancer spread.
For more information about cancer prevention, please see recent studies about nutrient in fish that can be a poison for cancer, and results showing this daily vitamin is critical to cancer prevention.
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