Taurine has spent the past few years riding a wave of good press, largely thanks to a high-profile study linking it to longevity.
But a new study published in Nature did damage to its reputation.
It uncovered a link between taurine and blood cancer, leading many to worry they’d been supplementing with something that’s undermining their health.
New Research Linking Taurine and Blood Cancer
The study focused on leukemia—a type of blood cancer that begins in bone marrow. Like all cancers, leukemia doesn’t grow in isolation—it interacts with its surroundings, also known as the “microenvironment.”
This microenvironment is full of cells like fibroblasts and stem cells that usually help your body function properly. When someone has cancer, however, this environment can change in ways that help the disease grow and spread.
The researchers found that taurine plays a role in shaping this environment.
Most taurine is made in the liver, but bone marrow cells can produce it too. And in people with leukemia, it seems that the cancer cells take advantage of this “local” taurine supply. They use a protein called the taurine transporter to pull taurine inside, where it may help the cells survive and grow.
To understand how important that transporter is, the researchers gave mice leukemia (grim, but par for the course in cancer research). Some received cancer cells with a functioning taurine transporter, while others got cells where the transporter had been disabled.
What Did the Researchers Find?
Both groups of mice developed cancer, but their rates of survival were very different. The mice whose cancer cells had a working taurine transporter died quickly. The others—whose cancer cells couldn’t bring in taurine—lived much longer. In fact, some didn’t die (at least not from cancer).
Why did taurine make such a difference?
Taurine helps cancer cells block a process called apoptosis—the body’s system for killing damaged or dangerous cells. When leukemia cells can’t get enough taurine, they become weaker, more vulnerable, and easier to destroy.
The researchers also found that more aggressive, drug-resistant forms of leukemia cells had much higher levels of the taurine transporter. And the more of the transporter the cancer cells had, the worse the disease tended to be.
Is There a Link Between Taurine and Blood Cancer in Humans?
All of this was in mice—but the researchers also studied human cells.
They found that leukemia patients with higher levels of the taurine transporter had much worse survival rates. Their cancer cells also had far more of the transporter than healthy bone marrow cells.
In other words, human leukemia cells may also hijack taurine to grow and survive. And when those cells have more of the transporter to pull taurine inside, the disease tends to be more aggressive and harder to treat.
What the Study Didn’t Show
There’s a lot to take away from this study’s findings—but just as important is what it didn’t show:
- It didn’t show that taurine causes cancer in healthy people.
- It didn’t show that taurine increases your risk of getting cancer.
- It didn’t show that taking taurine—occasionally or long-term—is harmful.
- It didn’t study supplements (like energy drinks) or the taurine you get from your diet.
- And it didn’t show that typical amounts of taurine in food or supplements are dangerous.
Should You Be Concerned About Taurine and Blood Cancer?
If you’re healthy and take taurine for its performance or longevity benefits, there’s no reason to change anything based on this study.
The researchers speculated that taurine might influence how some cancers behave—but that doesn’t mean taking it causes cancer or raises your risk.
A more likely takeaway is that scientists may one day use this finding to treat cancer (by targeting how cancer cells use taurine, for example), not to warn healthy people against taking it.
That’s the nuance most headlines missed.
Scientific References +
- Singh, Parminder, et al. “Taurine Deficiency as a Driver of Aging.” Science, vol. 380, no. 6649, 9 June 2023, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abn9257.
- Sharma, Sonali, et al. “Taurine from Tumour Niche Drives Glycolysis to Promote Leukaemogenesis.” Nature, 14 May 2025, pp. 1–10, www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09018-7, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09018-7. Accessed 14 May 2025.
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