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Prediagnostic wine consumption may slightly improve colorectal cancer survival outcomes
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Higher levels of prediagnostic wine consumption may be associated with slightly improved survival in patients with colorectal cancer, according to a study published in Cancer.
These findings were stronger in men and former smokers.
“Advances in early detection have contributed to favorable 5-year relative survival (90%) for patients with localized colorectal cancer; however, the survival rate with distant-stage disease is only 13%. Thus, it is important to identify factors contributing to the prognosis of colorectal cancer,” Amanda I. Phipps, MPH, PhD, assistant member of the public health sciences division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and assistant professor of epidemiology at University of Washington, and colleagues wrote.
Previous studies have demonstrated an increased risk for colorectal cancer among moderate to heavy drinkers.
However, evidence has been limited in the potential association of prediagnostic alcohol consumption and colorectal cancer prognosis.
Phipps and colleagues analyzed data from patients with colorectal cancer who participated in the Colon Cancer Family Registry from January 1997 to June 2007.
Participants completed a standardized risk-factor questionnaire regarding prediagnostic exposures — including consumption of one or more serving per week of beer, wine or hard liquor for 6 months or longer.
Individuals who consumed more than one alcoholic serving per day were more likely to be male (78% vs. 38%), have a history of smoking (74% vs. 48%), and have a primary tumor in the rectum (40% vs. 33%). They were less likely to be obese (23% vs. 31%) or have a primary tumor that was mismatch repair deficient (10% vs. 16%) or CpG island methylator phenotype high (9% vs. 17%).
Researchers observed no overall association between prediagnostic alcohol consumption and outcomes.
However, after adjusting for specific alcohol types, OS was slightly poorer in those who consumed more than one serving of liquor per day than in those who consumed less (HR = 1.12; 95% CI, 0.92-1.36).
Conversely, wine consumption demonstrated an inverse association with colorectal cancer–specific survival (HR = 0.7; 95% CI, 0.48-1.03) and OS (HR = 0.7; 95% CI, 0.53-0.94).
Within subgroups, this finding was strongest in men (colorectal cancer–specific survival, HR = 0.57; 95% CI, 0.34-0.97; OS, HR = 0.61; 95% CI, 0.42-0.9) and in former smokers (colorectal cancer–specific survival, HR = 0.59; 95% CI, 0.36-0.98; OS, HR = 0.62; 95% CI, 0.42-0.91).
“In line with past findings, we observed that overall prediagnostic alcohol use was not associated with overall or disease-specific survival but also that higher levels of prediagnostic wine consumption were associated with a more favorable prognosis,” Phipps and colleagues wrote. “Because the mechanistic action of wine on the prognosis of colorectal cancer is not understood, further study is merited to better elucidate biological pathways and explore possible alternative explanations.” – by Kristie L. Kahl
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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