The benefits of vitamin B3 for cholesterol or diabetes are well established. A new benefit has just made its breakthrough in scientific research, that of the effectiveness of vitamin B3 in the prevention of certain skin cancers.
This great news was revealed at the World Cancer Congress held in Chicago last week. This is the result of an Australian study conducted by a team of doctors in Sydney and cited by Le Parisien. The study was able to demonstrate the effectiveness of vitamin B3 in preventing carcinoma, the most common skin cancer (90%). Note that the vitamin is naturally present in poultry, calf's liver or cereals.
Carcinoma is less worrisome than melanoma, which progresses slowly and without the risk of developing metastases, but it is no less worrisome. Carcinoma is linked to overexposure to the sun and mainly affects people over fifty and skin at risk. In France, more than 65,000 new cases are diagnosed each year. Even more dramatic, in Australia, more than half of the population would be affected. Apart from sun protection, treatment involves dermatologist monitoring and possible surgery. Since the risk of relapse is frequent in people at risk, recourse to surgery may again be required.
Dermatologists already knew that vitamin B3 (nicotinamide) had a beneficial effect in treating the side effects of certain skin conditions, including lucite (sun allergy). Studies had also suggested that it could protect the immune system from harmful effects. ultraviolet rays which, by disrupting the DNA of the skin, can cause cellular runaway which leads to cancer.
The study was conducted on 386 patients, with an average age of 66 years. All were at high risk of relapse as they had been diagnosed with at least two carcinomas in the previous five years. Half of the group were prescribed 500 mg of vitamin B3 daily. Among those who had taken their daily pill for 12 months, the number of new skin cancers fell by 23%.
