Wine Delivery

Wine Reducing Radiation Therapy Side Effects

A clinical study by an Italian oncology center has found that women who drink wine while undergoing radiation treatment see fewer side effects than women who don’t drink.

The Radiotherapy and Palliative Care Unit, along with the research department at the Catholic University of Campobasso, in southern Italy’s Molise region, examined the extent of tissue damage on 348 women who were being treated for breast cancer. The findings are slated for publication in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology.

Radiation therapy for cancer involves bombarding afflicted areas with radiation to kill cancerous cells. A medication regiment to protect against extensive radioactive tissue damage accompanies this process. But often, the study text states, “these agents have several drawbacks, in that they are very expensive, they have sometimes severe side effects, and they have the potential to protect tumor cells as well as healthy cells from the effects of radiation.” While antioxidants and vitamins A, C and E offer some protection against tissue damage in animal studies, “a diet that is radio-protective in humans has yet to be identified.”

The Italian researchers looked at components of the Mediterranean diet, which they theorize is protective against cancer, in order to see if one aspect or another may be helpful for those undergoing the discomfort of radiation therapy.

The Mediterranean diet is high in seafood and low-fat meats, fresh fruits and vegetables. Olive oil is the fat of choice and the consumption of red meat is rare. The moderate consumption of wine, usually red, also accompanies the evening meal. And it was this final point that researchers decided to examine, since wine components have been shown to have “radio-protective effects” in previous studies.

However, the potential protective effect of moderate alcohol consumption against the incidence of breast cancer is a topic of great debate in the medical community. Recent studies point to even low amounts of alcohol as a risk factor for the disease. Other studies show that a certain red-wine compound, resveratrol, may actually aid the chemotherapy process, and may protect the skin from damage from ultraviolet radiation.

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