Vitamin B3 against glioblastoma
Niacin has proven useful in the treatment of a fatal brain tumor
Sofia Jabotinskaya, Naked Science
A new study by scientists from the Cumming School of Medicine (CSM) of the University of Calgary is published in the journal Science Translational Medicine (Sarkar et al., Control of brain tumor growth by reactivating myeloid cells with niacin). It showed that such use of niacin (also known as vitamin B3) on model animals (mice) with an aggressive incurable brain tumor (glioblastoma) significantly prolonged their life after diagnosis.
It can be seen how much the use of niacin for the treatment of the mouse (in the right picture) slowed down the development of glioblastoma compared to the mouse from the control group (in the left picture) on the same day of the disease (figure from the article Sarkar et al.).
Glioblastoma is the most aggressive form of brain cancer. Even with treatment that includes chemotherapy and radiation therapy, after diagnosis, most people die within 14-16 months. In particular, the reason for this is the ability of such tumor cells to capture the immune system, suppressing it and reprogramming immune cells to "work for the benefit" of the tumor.
Niacin– when supplemented with standard therapy– stimulated immune cells, helping the body to "flip" them back so that they could detect cancer cells and destroy them. On the lifespan of mice, this substance had an effect different from the statistical error, even when used without chemotherapy. And in combination therapy together with temozolomide (a chemotherapeutic drug usually used against glioblastoma), scientists managed to achieve almost a tripling of the life expectancy of animals after diagnosis. The mice were able to live an average of 150 days (with combination therapy) instead of 40.
"This is a wonderful result. Although this is not a cure, it is a promising step forward in the fight against an incurable disease," says Dr. Wee Yong, the main author of the work, professor of clinical Neurology and Oncology at CSM. "Brain tumor stem cells in glioblastoma are resistant to treatment, so instead of affecting these cells, we aimed at the immune system to help the body attack and destroy stem cells."
The authors report that 1040 compounds were screened. As a result, they found out that niacin has the necessary properties to activate immune cells, especially myeloid cells, and inhibits the growth of stem cells that initiate the development of brain tumors. Successful testing helped the work attract the Canadian Institute of Medical Research (CIHR) for cooperation and progress to the crucial stage – clinical trials.
Now scientists are waiting for the approval of the protocols by the Ministry of Health of Canada. The authors pay special attention to the fact that it is extremely important to wait for final, rigorous and evidence-based results in humans. Uncontrolled self–prescribing of an easily available drug is unacceptable and may not help at best, and at worst - lead to sad consequences.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru