Small Glioblastoma Trial Finds High‑Dose Niacin Boosts Short‑Term Disease Control

A University of Calgary team reports in the Journal of Neuro-Oncology that adding high‑dose vitamin B3 (niacin) to standard surgery, radiation and chemotherapy kept glioblastoma from progressing at six months in 82% of 24 patients, compared with a typical rate of about 54%. In this early, non‑randomized human trial, niacin appeared to restore the function of immune cells suppressed by the tumor, improving their ability to attack cancer cells, echoing earlier mouse studies that showed extended survival. Lead investigators Dr. Wee Yong and Dr. Gloria Roldan Urgoiti stress that the study is small, has short follow‑up and lacks a control arm, and say larger, controlled trials now being planned through 2026–27 are needed before the approach can be considered proven. The researchers also warn that the very high vitamin doses used can carry health risks and must be medically supervised. U.S. oncologists and cancer advocates following the work online are treating it as an intriguing but highly preliminary signal rather than a practice‑changing breakthrough, especially given glioblastoma’s grim 12‑ to 18‑month median survival and the field’s history of hyped "miracle" supplements that didn’t hold up in larger trials.