Friday, September 11, 2026

Nicotinamide Linked to Lower Melanoma Risk Post Skin Cancer

In continuation of my update on Nicotineamide

Nicotinamide supplementation was associated with a decreased risk for melanoma among patients with a history of other skin cancers, according to a retrospective cohort study of more than 33,000 veterans.




The study, which won a first-prize poster award at the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) 2026 Annual Meeting, “suggests that nicotinamide could potentially be effective for primary prevention of melanoma among patients who have had a prior nonmelanoma skin cancer,” noted Lee Wheless, MD, PhD, one of the senior authors, an assistant professor of dermatology at Vanderbilt University and a staff physician with the Tennessee Valley Healthcare System VA Medical Center, both in Nashville, Tennessee.

The effect of nicotinamide, at a dose of 500 mg twice daily, was statistically significant for invasive, but not in situ, melanoma, and it was consistent in both sun-exposed and sun-protected areas, he told Medscape Medical News.


The retrospective cohort study used data from the Veterans Affairs (VA) Corporate Data Warehouse from January 1, 2007, to December 31, 2024. It included a total of 33,581 patients with one or more prior skin cancers of any type. The cohort was predominantly White and men, with comparable mean ages (77.5 years in the exposed group vs 77.1 years in the unexposed group).

The US Department of VA offers nicotinamide, a vitamin B3 derivative, on formulary. Patients exposed to nicotinamide 500 mg twice daily were propensity score matched to unexposed patients based on “numerous skin cancer risk variables to make sure risks at specific timepoints in the patients’ lives matched up,” explained Wheless.

Baseline matching variables included age, sex, race, age at first skin cancer, number and year(s) of prior skin cancers of any type, number of dermatology visits after baseline, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, solid organ transplantation, exposure to acitretin, and field therapy.




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicotinamide




Nicotinamide Linked to Lower Melanoma Risk Post Skin Cancer