Scientists at the University of Minnesota have made an exciting discovery that could help improve cancer treatment. They found that a common vitamin — vitamin B3, also known as nicotinamide — can help boost the power of our body’s natural defense cells to fight cancer.
These special immune cells, called natural killer cells, are already part of our body’s system for fighting off viruses and cancer. But sometimes, when used in cancer treatments, they don’t work as well as doctors hoped. This new study shows that giving these cells a dose of vitamin B3 might help them do their job better.
Why This Matters
Natural killer cells are being tested in treatments for certain blood cancers, such as leukemia and lymphoma. These cancers can be hard to treat, especially when standard treatments don’t work anymore.
Doctors have tried using natural killer cells in the past, but results were often mixed. Some patients didn’t get better, and the cells didn’t always survive long enough to fight the cancer well.
That’s where vitamin B3 comes in.
The Vitamin B3 Boost
In this new study, scientists treated natural killer cells with vitamin B3 in the lab. After the treatment, the cells became stronger, lasted longer in the body, and were better at recognizing and killing cancer cells.
To test this new approach, the researchers gave the treated natural killer cells to a small group of 30 patients. These patients had tough-to-treat blood cancers, and many of them had already tried other treatments without success.
The results were promising. In 19 people who had a difficult type of lymphoma, 11 showed a complete recovery, and 3 more showed partial recovery — all within just 28 days of getting the new treatment. The treatment was also safe, with no major problems reported.
A Vitamin with a History
Vitamin B3 has been known for many years to be important for health. In the 1930s, scientists discovered that a lack of this vitamin caused a serious disease called pellagra, which led to symptoms like memory loss, skin problems, and stomach issues. Adding vitamin B3 to people’s diets helped prevent the disease completely.
In this new study, the vitamin did more than just give energy to the natural killer cells. It also helped protect them from damage, allowing them to survive longer and do more to fight cancer. This made them much more effective in helping the body get rid of harmful cancer cells.
What’s Next
This study is just the beginning. Because the results are so promising, scientists now want to test this vitamin B3 method on more patients in larger studies. If those trials go well, it could lead to a new and powerful way to treat blood cancers.
This vitamin-based boost might one day become a regular part of cancer treatment — helping people who have run out of other options, and giving natural killer cells the strength they need to win the battle.
The study was published in Science Translational Medicine.
If you care about nutrition, please read studies about a breakfast linked to better blood vessel health, and drinking too much coffee could harm people with high blood pressure.
For more information about health, please see recent studies about unhealthy habits that may increase high blood pressure risk, and results showing plant-based protein foods may help reverse diabetes.
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