A team of researchers from the University of Santiago de Compostela in Spain sought to ascertain the effect of wine-both overall and by type (red or white)-on the development of lung cancer.
The investigators conducted a hospital-based, case control study on 319 subjects. Of these, 132 had been diagnosed with primary bronchopulmonary cancer (55% epidermoid, 20% adenocarcinoma, 15% small cell carcinoma, 9% large cell lung cancer, and 1% other), and a control group of 187 had been admitted to the hospital for non-tobacco related minor surgery.
The researchers interviewed all subjects about their lifestyles, with particular attention to alcohol consumption and tobacco use. Subjects were asked about their occupation and the type and amount of wine they consumed.
The data were analyzed with nonparametric logistic regression. The researchers adjusted for sex, age, occupational exposure to carcinogens, smoking, and total alcohol intake. The main outcome measure was the risk of lung cancer associated with consumption of wine and its types. Key results are as follows.
- A slight but significant association was found between white wine consumption and lung cancer risk. (Adjusted odds ratio 1.47. Nondrinkers were the referent.) However it should be noted that the number of subjects consuming white wine was low.
- Red wine showed a small but significant protective effect. (Adjusted odds ratio 0.43.)
- These relationships were dose dependant, with white wine increasing risk by 1.20 for each daily glass, and red wine decreasing risk by 0.87 per daily glass consumed.
- Consuming beer or spirits did not appear to affect lung cancer risk.
"We conclude that the consumption of red wine might have an inverse association with the development of lung cancer," the researchers wrote. "This effect appears to follow a dose-response gradient and is robust, remaining in evidence when adjustment is made for tobacco consumption, occupation, and total alcohol consumption."
The researchers speculated that red wine's protective effect may be due to the fact that it contains tannins, which have antioxidant properties, and resveratrol, a substance that has been shown to inhibit tumors. The effect of white wine was likely due to ethanol, a potential carcinogen possibly via mutations in the p53 gene. Both red and white wine contain ethanol, but the researchers speculated that the anticarcinogenic properties of red wine may outweigh the effects of the ethanol.
The researchers emphasized that their results should not be used to endorse high consumption of red wine to prevent lung cancer, given the well-known association between alcohol consumption and increased mortality.
"The results of our study should not be applied for clinicians at least for now," lead investigator Alberto Ruano-Ravina told MedPage Today. "The key message is that substances contained in red wine have a consistent protective effect against lung cancer. It would be harmful to drink red wine in order to prevent lung cancer, so now it is necessary to investigate the specific role of these substances."
Dr. Ruano-Ravina and his colleagues hope to positively identify the substances in red wine that protect against lung cancer with the aim that one day these substances might be administered to smokers to help prevent the disease.
- Reviewed by Zalman S. Agus, MD Emeritus Professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine