Wine may snap odds of esophageal cancer

California, March 3: Adding more to the protective benefits of wine, a daily drink may snap the odds of developing Barrett's Esophagus, a condition preceding esophageal cancerdefine, three separate studies comprehend.

Barrett's Esophagus, often referred to as a premalignant condition, is a disorder wherein the esophageal lining, the food pipe running from the mouth to the stomach, gets damaged due to chronic acid exposure. Long-term gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) often results in inflamed esophageal tissue.

According to the background information of the study, an estimated 5 percent of the Americans are diagnosed with Barrett's Esophagus each year. The afflicted are 30-40 percent more likely to develop esophageal adenocarcinomadefine, the deadliest form of esophageal cancerdefine often because of late diagnoses.

The first study, conducted by researchers at the Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, Calif., assessed drinking habits of 953 Californian inhabitants. Participants who consumed a glass of red or white wine a day were 56 percent less likely to develop Barrett's esophagus, as opposed to wine abstainers.

Interestingly, drinking beer or alcohol failed to bestow similar benefits. Also, protective properties of wine did not increase with higher consumption, researchers highlighted.

An Australian study, the second to address the issue, found that wine lovers were less likely to develop esophageal adenocarcinoma. Conversely, heavy alcohol consumption was directly associated with an increased risk for squamous cell carcinoma, a type of esophageal cancer that accounts for almost 90 percent of all esophageal cancers.

For the third study, Irish researchers examined the impact of alcohol consumption on Barrett's esophagus, GERD-related esophagitis and esophageal adenocarcinoma.

While boozing early on in life (in early adulthood) did not increase the risk of developing any of the three conditions, a moderate wine consumption did lower the risk of all three, Barrett's esophagus, GERD-related esophagitis and esophageal adenocarcinoma, the researchers marked.

While the researchers are still not sure about what ingredient of wine confers the protective benefits, they believe that the ‘wine's antioxidantsdefine neutralize the oxidative damage caused by stomach acids’.

The findings of all three studies feature in the current issue of Gastroenterology.