Vitamin B3 may help reduce the risk of skin cancer

Vitamin B3, a common and inexpensive supplement, may significantly reduce the risk of non-melanoma skin cancers.

Vitamin B3, a common and inexpensive supplement, may significantly reduce the risk of non-melanoma skin cancers.

This is the conclusion of Australian scientists in a research project published on May 13, ahead of the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago later this month.

To reach this conclusion, scientists at the University of Sydney conducted a study on 386 patients aged 30-91, diagnosed with at least two common types of skin cancer, basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, in the past 5 years.

These patients were randomly divided into two groups, one group was assigned to take 500 mg of niacinamide (a form of vitamin B3) daily and the other group used a placebo.

The results showed that vitamin B3 can help reduce the risk of developing non-melanoma skin cancer by 23% in this group of patients. The effect of preventing advanced skin cancer began to be evident after 3 months of patients being prescribed vitamin B3, but the risk increased again after the next 6 months if they stopped taking this supplement.

Professor Diona Damian, a dermatologist at the University of Sydney and head of the research team, confirmed that this is the first scientific evidence that the risk of skin cancer can be reduced by regularly taking vitamins combined with simple sun protection measures such as using sunscreen.

However, Professor Damian also recommends that the use of vitamin B3 in skin cancer prevention should only be applied to people at high risk of this disease.

Each year in the United States, nearly 5 million people are diagnosed with non-melanoma skin cancer, more than the number of people diagnosed with prostate, lung, ovarian, and breast cancers combined. About 90 percent of these cases are caused by frequent exposure to the sun's ultraviolet (UV) rays. However, according to experts, the disease can be cured if detected and treated early./

According to VNA