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 Toasting
Your Health: Could Red Wine Help Prevent Colon
Cancer?
The consumption of more than three glasses of
red wine a week reduced the risk for significant colorectal
neoplasia (SCRN), or colon cancer, according to research presented
last year at the 71st Annual Scientific Meeting of the American
College of Gastroenterology.
Joseph C. Anderson, M.D, and his colleagues at
SUNY Stony Brook, compared the drinking habits of 360 red and white
wine drinkers with similar lifestyles as part of a study examining
the prevalence of colorectal neoplasia.
They found that drinking red wine significantly
reduced the risk of colorectal neoplasia by 68 percent, but drinking
white wine did not. Researchers suspect that higher concentrations
of the compound resveratrol in red wine may provide a protective
effect against colon cancer.
There is great interest in lifestyle and
dietary factors and their impact on health and the development of
disease. This research highlights the potential role of red wine in
chemoprevention of colon cancer, but when it comes to proven
prevention strategies, screening for colorectal cancer remains
essential and is the most proven preventative measure that
individuals can use to reduce their risk of developing this disease.
Screening tests can find
precancerous polyps, allowing removal before they
turn into cancer. Colorectal cancer is one of the
most detectable, and if found early enough, the most
treatable forms of cancer, according to the American
College of Gastroenterology.
Recent Scientific Developments Feature Impact
of Lifestyle & Diet on CRC Incidence
Vitamin D
o Taking 1,000 to 2,000 IU of vitamin D each day could reduce the
risk of colorectal cancer
o Patients with a serum vitamin D level of 33 nanograms per
milliliter or higher were 50 percent less likely to develop
colorectal cancer compared to those who had blood levels of 12
nanograms per milliliter or lower.
*Source: American Journal of Preventive Medicine (March 2007)
Calcium
o Taking calcium supplements appears to decrease the risk of
recurring colorectal adenomas (precancerous polyp) for up to five
years after treatment
o 31 percent of those who had taken calcium had recurrences compared
with 43 percent of those originally in the placebo group.
*Source: Journal of the National Cancer Institute (January
2007)
Patient information about lifesaving colorectal
cancer screening and other digestive health issues can be found at
http://www.acg.gi.org.
About Colorectal Cancer
Screening-Recommendations from the American College of
Gastroenterology (http://www.acg.gi.org)
For normal risk individuals, the American
College of Gastroenterology recommends screening beginning at age 50
(age 45 for African-Americans). The preferred screening test
according to the American College of Gastroenterology is colonoscopy
every 10 years. An alternative strategy for average risk individuals
is an annual stool test for blood, and a flexible sigmoidoscopic
exam every 5 years. Unlike colonoscopy, this approach does not allow
visualization and removal of polyps in the entire colon. |