Red wine not safer: Study links all alcohol to cancer risk

A new meta-analysis published in Nutrients has shattered the popular belief that red wine is a healthier alcoholic option. After analysing data from 42 studies, researchers found no significant difference in overall cancer risk between red and white wine — and no type of wine was shown to be “safe” when it comes to cancer prevention. “Red wine’s reputation for being healthier due to antioxidants like resveratrol doesn’t hold up,” said lead author Dr. Eunyoung Cho of Brown University. “We found no strong evidence that red wine lowers cancer risk.”
Interestingly, white wine was associated with higher cancer risk in women and a 22 per cent increased risk of skin cancer in some studies — though researchers noted that lifestyle factors like sun exposure could play a role. When focusing on more reliable cohort studies, the link between white wine and increased cancer risk was stronger, but no significant risk increase was seen with red wine. Still, each daily glass of red wine was linked to a 5 per cent increase in cancer risk, though this wasn’t statistically significant in deeper analyses.
Dr. Brian Black, a family medicine physician not involved in the study, said, “This challenges the idea that red wine is a ‘safe’ alcohol. The real takeaway is that alcohol in any form carries risk.”  A spokesperson for the Cancer Prevention Alliance summed it up: “While these findings debunk some common myths, the message remains clear — limiting alcohol is one of the simplest ways to reduce cancer risk.
On the basis of such syntheses, researchers agree that alcohol increases the risk of at least seven types of cancer: mouth, throat (pharynx), voice box (larynx), oesophagus, breast cancer in women, colorectal and liver. Scientists suspect that other cancer types will be added as more data are collected. Studies present this risk in different ways. One complication is that, in alcohol studies and guidelines, the amount of alcohol in a ‘standard’ drink differs between countries: a standard drink in the United States contains 14 grams of ethanol, in Canada it holds 13.45 g, in Australia 10 g and the in United Kingdom 8 grams.