Prostate Cancer
Red wine may keep prostate cancer cells in check NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Compounds in red wine may keep
prostate cancer cells from proliferating, results of a preliminary laboratory
study suggest. Researchers from Spain found five different polyphenols--antioxidants found
in red wine, tea, and certain fruits and vegetables--inhibited the growth of
prostate cancer cells in a test tube and encouraged cancer cells to "commit
suicide"--a natural process called apoptosis. The findings, if confirmed by larger studies, may help to explain the higher
rates of prostate cancer in the US and non-Mediterranean European countries,
according to Dr. I. Romero and colleagues from Getafe University in Madrid,
Spain. The rate of prostate cancer in Mediterranean countries, where intake of
red wine and other polyphenol-containing foods is high, tends to be lower. "The Mediterranean diet is considered to be protective against the
endocrine cancers (including prostate cancer), and features a low animal-fat and
meat content, with a high intake of fresh fruit, vegetables, pasta and
wine," Romero and colleagues explain in the journal BJU International. Their study examined the effect of five polyphenols found in red wine--gallic
acid, tannic acid, morin, quercetin and rutin--on prostate cancer cells. The
researchers added varying amounts of these compounds to a dish containing
prostate cancer cells. All five compounds inhibited cell proliferation and apoptosis, compared with
an inactive compound, after 24 hours. The results point to a need for studies
investigating the effects of these compounds in humans, with the potential goal
of developing recommendations for their use in cancer prevention, Romero's team
concludes. Prostate cancer is the second-deadliest form of cancer for US men, after lung
cancer, according to the American Cancer Society.
Source: Reuters News
Publish Date: 07/10/2002