Common anti-aging supplements may reduce chemotherapy effectiveness, study warns

A team led by Jordan Winter at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine reported that vitamin B3-derived supplements—including nicotinamide mononucleotide, nicotinamide riboside and nicotinamide—enhance NAD+ production, which cancer cells can exploit to repair chemotherapy-induced damage. In cell cultures and animal studies focusing on pancreatic cancer, the supplements reduced the efficacy of three common drugs: oxaliplatin, 5-fluorouracil and gemcitabine, enabling tumor survival at doses that would normally be lethal.

The researchers note that these findings apply to pancreatic cancer and may not extend to other cancers or treatment regimens. They recommend oncologists screen patients for supplement use and advise patients to discuss any over-the-counter products with their doctors. The study, published in Cancer Letters, emphasizes that “natural” does not automatically mean safe during cancer therapy.