A recent study supports a potential beneficial role of niacin intake in relation to squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), but not of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) or melanoma. Researchers prospectively evaluated whether total, dietary, and supplemental niacin intake was associated with skin cancer risk based on 72,308 women in the Nurses' Health Study (1984-2010) and 41,808 men in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (1986-2010). Niacin intake was assessed every 2 to 4 years during follow-up and cumulative averaged intake. They found:

• During the follow-up, 23,256 BCC, 2,530 SCC, and 887 melanoma cases were documented.
• Total niacin intake was inversely associated with SCC risk; the pooled HR for top vs bottom quintiles was 0.84.
• On the other hand, there were a marginally positive association between total niacin intake and BCC risk; the pooled HR for top vs bottom quintiles was 1.05.
• Higher total niacin intake was also marginally positively associated with melanoma risk in men, but not in women.