Researchers at the University of Calgary in Canada are studying whether high doses of niacin, known as vitamin B3, can help treat glioblastoma. Glioblastoma is a very fast-growing and hard-to-treat type of brain cancer. In a small early trial, about 82% of patients who took vitamin B3 stayed 'progression-free' for six months, which means their cancer did not get worse during that time.

Researchers think this is possible because glioblastoma can make the body’s immune cells weak. Normally, immune cells help fight disease, but these cells can stop working and make it easier for the tumour to grow. Scientists believe vitamin B3 could help make these immune cells active again so they can help fight the cancer.

Because of these early results, researchers will continue to test vitamin B3 with larger and more careful studies. Patients should not try high doses of vitamin B3 on their own, as it can be dangerous. Doctors hope that, one day, this vitamin could become an extra part of brain cancer treatment.