A common vitamin is getting a serious test in one of brain cancer’s toughest fights.
Researchers at the University of Calgary are testing whether high doses of niacin, also known as vitamin B3, can help treat glioblastoma when added to standard care, ScienceDaily reported. Glioblastoma is an aggressive brain cancer that often returns even after surgery, radiation and chemotherapy.
One of the patients in the trial is Edward Waldner, 55, who went to the emergency department after months of extreme fatigue and changes in his walking patterns.
“The doctor said I had a mass on my brain and needed to see an oncologist,” Waldner said, as reported by ScienceDaily.
The mass turned out to be glioblastoma. After his diagnosis and surgery, Waldner was invited to join the B3 clinical trial.
“I have no problem trying to help anybody. I agreed. I want to help myself too,” Waldner told ScienceDaily. “I can tell you being part of this research helps me mentally because we’re trying. When I left the hospital after surgery I was told, that’s it, that’s all we can do.”
The study is led by Dr Gloria Roldan Urgoiti, a brain cancer specialist and clinical associate professor at the Cumming School of Medicine, and Dr Wee Yong, a neuroscientist and professor whose research focuses on the brain and immune system.
ScienceDaily reported that the researchers moved to human trials after earlier experiments in mice suggested niacin could extend survival.
Roldan Urgoiti said progress in treating glioblastoma has been limited for years.
“Glioblastoma is the most aggressive brain cancer in adults. Survival of patients with this condition hasn’t changed significantly for 20 years,” she said, per ScienceDaily. “Anything that may help should be explored but it requires strict protocols and safety monitoring.”
In the first 24 patients, 82 percent showed no disease progression at the six-month mark. ScienceDaily reported that was a 28 percent improvement over earlier studies and above the benchmark needed for the trial to continue.
According to Yong, the treatment appears to reverse immune suppression caused by the cancer by helping immune cells work again.
“Niacin treatment rejuvenates immune cells so they can do what they are supposed to do, attack and kill the cancer cells,” he said. “I see it as an ongoing ‘battle for the brain.'”
Researchers said very high doses of vitamins, including niacin, can be dangerous and should only be used under close medical supervision.
The full results were published in the Journal of Neuro-Oncology. The trial is still aiming to enroll 48 participants by 2027. ScienceDaily reported Waldner said his regular follow-up scans have continued to show stable results.
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