Drs. Steen Mollerup, Steinar ØvrebØ and Aage Haugen from the Department of Toxicology at the National Institute of Occupational Health in Oslo, Norway published a study in 2001 with findings that resveratrol, a red wine ingredient, may effect lung cancer cell expression.
The study suggests that resveratrol, a natural antioxidant found in plants and foods, has cancer preventative and therapeutic potential. Certain red wines are rich sources of resveratrol. A lower risk of lung cancer among consumers of red wine compared with other beverages has been observed, and may be partially attributed to the high resveratrol content in red wine.
The doctors studied the effect of resveratrol on the expression of genes involved in lung cancer. Resveratrol reduced the expression of lung cancer cells. The data shows that resveratrol may have lung cancer prevention characteristics. Laboratory studies have shown that resveratrol reduces tumor cell growth and alters the expression of many genes. This gene expression alteration is thought to be the main effect on lung cancer cells.
A recent study suggested that consuming alcohol and more importantly, the type of beverage consumed, might influence lung cancer risk. High beer and spirits consumption was reportedly related to increased risks of lung cancer in men, whereas wine consumers had a reduced risk. It was suggested that the high doses of resveratrol in red wine might play a role in the altered lung cancer risk.