The results of a new study add to accumulating evidence that consumption of red wine may reduce the risk of prostate cancer in middle-aged men.

Dr. Janet L. Stanford, from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, and colleagues studied data from 753 newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients between 40 and 64 years of age, and from a comparison group of 703 matched “controls” to assess the association between alcohol consumption and prostate cancer.

The men with and without prostate cancer completed in-person interviews about lifetime alcohol consumption and other risk factors for prostate cancer.

No clear associations were observed between the risk of prostate cancer and overall alcohol consumption, the team reports in published in the International Journal of Cancer.

However, “each additional glass of red wine consumed per week showed a statistically significant 6% decrease in relative risk” of prostate cancer, they report.

Alcohol alters the balance of hormones, Stanford’s group notes, and it “contains chemical substances such as flavonoids (red wine), which may alter tumor cell growth.”

They say the findings “highlight the need for further research on the biological effects of polyphenol rich foods and beverages,” which includes red wine.

SOURCE: International Journal of Cancer January 1, 2005.