Popular Supplement May Be Helping Cancer Survive, Scientists Warn
Published
Apr 08, 2026 at 07:30 PM EDT
By Thomas Westerholm
Life & Trends Reporter
Many people take vitamin B3 as a way to boost their energy, including patients diagnosed with cancer who are undergoing the difficult chemotherapy process.
Vitamin B3, however, might have a surprising side effect: According to researchers at Case Western Reserve School, the popular supplement could also help cancer survive.
'A call to action'
Vitamin B3 helps facilitate the production of NAD+, a molecule crucial for the metabolism and the repair of cells.
However, cancer cells can also exploit NAD+. The researchers found that pancreatic cancer cells can use derivatives of vitamin B3 to survive treatment that might have otherwise killed them.
That study is especially concerning given pancreatic cancer's deadly prognosis—the condition is often diagnosed late and the five-year survival rate is just 13 percent.
More:
https://www.newsweek.com/popular-supplement-help-cancer-survive-11798948
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