Moderate red wine consumption may lower the risk of lethal prostate cancer

In an analysis from the Health Professionals Study, the researchers evaluated the association of alcohol consumption and the development of lethal prostate cancer in more than 45,000 study participants. The intake of alcoholic beverages was assessed before and after the diagnosis of prostate cancer. For those individuals who consumed alcoholic beverages prior to being diagnosed with prostate cancer, there was a small (16%) but significant reduction in the risk of lethal prostate cancer.

Among men who had been diagnosed with prostate cancer, moderate red wine intake was associated with a 50% lower risk of progressing to lethal prostate cancer. The authors assume that the polyphenols contained in red wine in combination with ethanol may be an explanation for the observed protective effect.

The study cannot prove a cause-effect relationship, but the investigators conclude that the observed associations provide assurance that moderate consumption of wine/alcoholic beverages is safe for patients with prostate cancer.

Downer MK et al, Alcohol intake and the risk of lethal prostate cancer in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, J Clin Oncology 2019, Pre-publication, https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO.18.02462