So suggest the latest studies on food and drink, presented this week at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research.
Researchers at the Yale School of Public Health studied more than 500 women with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system. At the time of their diagnosis, the women were asked a battery of questions regarding alcohol: whether they drank, what they drank, how much they drank, and for long they had been drinking. Then they were followed for eight to 12 years.
"We found that wine had a protective effect," says Xuesong Han, a doctoral candidate in cancer epidemiology.
Among the findings:
- About three-fourths of women who drank at least 12 glasses of wine over their lifetime were alive five years after diagnosis, compared with two-thirds of those who never drank wine.
- Thirty-five percent of never-drinkers relapsed within five years vs. 30% of wine drinkers.
The longer a woman drank, the lower the chance she would suffer a relapse or die within five years of diagnosis, Han says.
Patients who had been drinking wine for at least 25 years prior to diagnosis were 26% less likely to relapse or develop a secondary cancer and 33% less likely to die over the five-year period, compared with non-wine drinkers.
The protective effects of wine were strongest among women with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, the most common type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Women with this type of cancer who drank more than six glasses of wine a month were about 60% less likely to relapse or die within five years, compared with non-wine drinkers.
Beer and liquor consumption did not appear to affect lymphoma risk.
Yawei Zhang, PhD, who also worked on the study, says for most women, a few glasses of wine a week may help to protect against the cancer. Women with a family history or other risk factors for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, such as those with impaired immune systems, might particularly benefit, she tells WebMD.
"But if you have risk factors for breast cancer, you should avoid wine. Studies have linked any type of alcohol to poor outcomes," Zhang says.