Drinking Red Wine Associated With Reduced Lung Cancer Risk in Male Smokers

In the October, 2008 issue of the American Association for Cancer research journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention¸ California Kaiser Permanente researchers report yet another benefit associated with drinking red wine: a lower risk of lung cancer.

Chun Chao, PhD, of Kaiser Permanente's Department of Research and Evaluation in Pasadena, California, and colleagues analyzed data from the California Men's Health Study of 84,170 men aged 45 to 69. Surveys completed between 2000 and 2003 provided information concerning demographics and lifestyle characteristics, including type and frequency of alcoholic beverage consumption. Over the three year period, 210 cases of lung cancer were identified.Among men who reported ever having smoked, drinking one or more glasses of red wine per day was associated with a 61 percent lower adjusted risk of lung cancer compared to the risk experienced by those who did not consume red wine. For each glass of red wine consumed per month, a 2 percent reduction in lung cancer risk was noted among those who had ever smoked, and for those who reported having been heavy smokers, a 4 percent reduction was observed. No effect for beer, liquor, or white wine was observed.

"An antioxidant component in red wine may be protective of lung cancer, particularly among smokers," Dr Chao stated. "Red wine is known to contain high levels of antioxidants. There is a compound called resveratrol that is very rich in red wine because it is derived from the grape skin. This compound has shown significant health benefits in preclinical studies."

Although white wine also contains beneficial phytochemicals, their level and activity are much lower compared with those found in red wine. The authors observe that resveratrol, found in red wine, red grapes, and other plants, has been shown to alter the activation of carcinogenic substances in human lung cell cultures, induce programmed cell death in human lung cancer cell lines, and slow lung tumor growth in experiments with mice.

"This finding, if confirmed is of interest for lung cancer chemoprevention in current and former smokers," the authors write. They emphasize that not smoking is still the best way to avoid lung cancer, and that heavy alcohol consumption is not recommended.

Dayna Dye writes for Life Extension - a global authority on health, wellness and nutrition as well as a provider of scientific information on anti-aging therapies and nutritional supplements, including minerals, herbs, hormones and vitamins.