UACC experts discuss B-Vitamin's role in skin cancer prevention

UACC researchers Clara Curiel-Lewandrowski, MD, and Steven Stratton, PhD, discussed the potential uses for vitamin B3 in skin cancer prevention in a recent edition of the New York Times.

According to the story, written by Andrew Pollack and published May 13, "In a clinical trial, people who took two pills a day of nicotinamide, a form of vitamin B3 available as a nutritional supplement, had a 23 percent lower risk of developing non-melanoma skin cancer than those who took placebo pills."

This study will be featured at the upcoming American Society of Clinical Oncologists (ASCO) conference on May 29 in Chicago.

Given the safety and affordability of this potential prevention plan, prinicipal investigator Dr. Diono Damian, a dermatology professor at the University of Sydney in Australia, said this study's findings could be put into practice right away. However, she added that "the vitamin should be used only by people who get frequent skin cancers, not by everyone."

Drs. Curiel-Lewandroski and Stratton were encouraged by the study's findings, but said in a joint email that patients should nonetheless talk to their doctors before taking the vitamin.

Read the full story at the New York Times' website.

-May 15, 2015