Cost-Effectiveness of Oral Nicotinamide for Keratinocyte Carcinoma Prevention
A cheap vitamin supplement prevents skin cancers in elderly people and actually saves money on cancer treatment costs.
In a large VHA cohort (n=33,822, mean age 77), oral nicotinamide for KC prevention was cost-saving at -$58,426 per QALY, preventing 624 keratinocyte carcinomas annually and yielding a 19.9% reduction in KC treatment costs compared to non-use. This economic evidence, published in JAMA Dermatology, substantially strengthens the case for broader adoption of nicotinamide as a scalable, inexpensive prevention tool in high-risk elderly populations.
What the study was
- Study design
- Economic evaluation / real-world cohort analysis
- Population
- Veterans Health Administration cohort (n=33,822, mean age 77 years, 98% male); nicotinamide users vs non-users for KC prevention
- Sample size
- 33822
- Category
- Prevention
- Maturity
- Validated
- Journal
- JAMA Dermatology
Why it surfaced
Large VHA real-world cohort; cost-saving ICER for a simple, cheap oral supplement (nicotinamide) for the most common cancer type in the US; direct clinical and policy implementation potential; JAMA Dermatology flagship journal; especially relevant for elderly/high-risk populations.
A plain-language summary of published research — not medical advice. Talk to a clinician about your own care.