Findings indicate vitamin B3 looks promising to help rearm a compromised immune system
Story by Kelly Johnston, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary published on Feb 11, 2026
University of Calgary and Hotchkiss Brain Institute researchers Voon Wee Yong and Gloria Roldan Urgoiti recently published a study in the Journal of Neuro-Oncology investigating whether adding high doses of vitamin B3 or niacin to the treatment plan for glioblastoma could be beneficial.
The research began in the Yong lab, with mice, where findings showed niacin prolonged survival. That work evolved into a Phase I and II clinical trial.
“Normally, the immune system will try to counter and prevent tumour growth; however, this brain cancer suppresses the immune system,” says Yong, a professor at the Cumming School of Medicine. “Niacin treatment rejuvenates immune cells so they can do what they are supposed to do, attack and kill the cancer cells. I see it as an ongoing ‘battle for the brain.’”
The clinical trial was designed to determine the maximum dose and potential benefit of controlled-release niacin that could be added to the recommended chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments. Researchers decided the study would stop if the progression-free survival over six-months did not improve by at least 20 per cent compared with older studies. Early results involving 24 patients showed 82 per cent of the participants were free of progression of the cancer at six months; an increase of 28 per cent from previous studies. The researchers say this is a promising advancement for this incurable cancer.
“Glioblastoma is the most aggressive brain cancer in adults. Survival of patients with this condition hasn’t changed significantly for 20 years,” says Roldan Urgoiti, a clinical associate professor at the Cummings School of Medicine. “Anything that may help should be explored, but it requires strict protocols and safety monitoring.”
Read the full story on the University of Calgary website https://www.ucalgary.ca/news/ucalgary-common-vitamin-b3-niacin-brain-cancer-glioblastoma
Read the scientific publication in the Journal of Neuro-Oncology (subscription required)
Gloria Roldan Urgoiti, Paula de Robles, Roger Y. Tsang, Morgan Willson, Sunita Ghosh, Muhammad Faruqi, Gerald Lim, Shaun Loewen, Robert Nordal, Gregory Cairncross, Catriona Leckie, Candice C. Poon & V. Wee Yong
A phase I-II study of niacin in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma: safety and interim phase II analysis. J Neurooncol 176, 101 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11060-025-05351-z
The research is supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Alberta Cancer Foundation.
Learn more about Dr. V. Wee Yong’s research on his website: https://cumming.ucalgary.ca/labs/reparative-neuroinflammation
