Drinking Wine May Lower Risk of Esophageal Cancer

Wine drinkers rejoice, your favorite glass of red or white may actually help you lower your risk of developing esophageal cancer, which is one of the deadliest and fastest growing cancers in the United States. The rates of esophageal cancer have increased over the last three decades, due to a more than 500 percent increase of esophageal adenocarcinoma, a subtype of the cancer that is linked to acid reflux disease. But beware overdoing it, as alcohol abuse is a known risk factor for another type esophageal cancer, squamous cell esophageal cancer.

The findings from three newly published studies suggest that drinking wine in moderation may actually help protect against esophageal adenocarcinoma or a precancerous condition known as Barrett’s esophagus. All three of these new studies will appear in the March issue of the journal Gastroenterology.

In one of these studies, researchers from the Kaiser Permanente division of research in Oakland, California reported that drinking as little a one glass of wine daily was associated with approximately a 56 percent decrease in the risk for developing Barrett’s esophagus. About 5 percent of the population in the U.S. is estimated to have Barrett’s, most of them are never diagnosed. People that do have the condition have about a 30 to 40 fold higher risk of developing esophageal adenocarcinoma than the rest of the general population.

The study done in California is the largest ever to examine the connection between the condition and the consumption of alcohol. The researchers examined data from a larger trial that included detailed, self-reported information about alcohol consumption. The study included 320 people who were diagnosed with Barrett’s esophagus between the years 2002 and 2005, 316 people that had gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD) without Barrett’s, and 317 people that did not have Barrett’s or GERD. Even after the researchers controlled the risk factors for Barrett’s, the moderate wine consumption appeared to be protective.

Douglas A. Corley, the gastroenterologist and principal investigator at Kaiser Permanente, said, “We found no relationship between overall alcohol consumption and Barrett’s esophagus, but the risk of developing Barrett’s was lower among wine drinkers.”

In the second study, researchers in Australia examined patients drinking histories that had both types of esophageal cancer. During the study, the researcher found that:
 As to be expected, heavy alcohol consumption was associated with an increased risk of developing squamous cell cancer of the esophagus.
 There was no association seen between the amount of alcohol the patient consumed and esophageal adenocarcinoma.
 It was found that the moderate consumption of wine or spirits (no more than one drink daily) was associated with a lower risk for developing both cancers in comparison to nondrinkers.

In the third study conducted, researchers from Belfast examined the impact of the consumption of alcohol on GERD-related esophagitis, esophageal adenocarcinoma, and Barrett’s esophagus. The researchers found that there was no increase in risk associated with drinking alcohol in early adulthood for any of the three conditions. However, their findings do suggest that wine may lower the risk of reflux esophagitis, esophageal adenocarcinoma, and Barrett’s esophagus.

All of the studies suggest, but do not prove, that drinking wine in moderation protects against Barrett’s and esophageal adenocarcinoma. Corley stated that if wine is protective, the benefits may have nothing at all to do with the alcohol. “Wine is high in antioxidants and other studies have shown that people who eat plenty of antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables are less likely to have Barrett’s esophagus and esophageal cancer,” he says.
In studies done with animals, antioxidants have also been shown to help protect against the inflammation that causes injury to the esophagus.

Because there are so many questions that are still unanswered, Corley says it is still far too soon to recommend drinking a glass of wine every day to protect against esophageal cancer. He stated that at this time the best we can say is that alcohol does not seem to be a risk factor for esophageal adenocarcinoma and Barrett’s.

One of Barrett’s researchers, Prateek Sharma, M.D. from the University of Kansas School of Medicine, agrees, saying, “It may be that people who drink wine have healthier lifestyles. They may eat more fruits and vegetables and consume less fat in their diets, The last thing you would want is for people to start drinking wine to prevent cancer.”

Even though esophageal adenocarcinoma is the fastest growing cancer today in the United States, Sharma points out that it is still relatively uncommon. Approximately 15,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with esophageal cancer annually, compared with the 150,000 that are diagnosed with colon cancer annually.