Cancer describes a group of diseases in which certain cells within your body grow out of control. Normal cells typically undergo a life cycle in which they grow, divide and at some point naturally die. However, in cancer, for a variety of reasons, specific cells do not die but rather continue to grow and divide. A mass of these cells becomes a cancerous tumor. Designing effective cancer treatments is an ongoing goal of scientific research, and some natural substances, such as those in red wine, may offer hope.
Brain Cancer
Many tumor types comprise brain cancers, including gliomas, pituitary adenomas, central nervous system lymphomas, medullablastomas and meningomas. Brain tumors may be primary, in which they originate in brain tissue, or secondary, in which they metastasize from a tumor elsewhere in your body. The causes of primary brain cancers remain largely unknown, according to Georgetown University Hospital, while risk factors depend upon the specific tumor type. Prognosis is also variable. Standard treatments as of 2011 include a combination of surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy.
Resveratrol
Polyphenols are a type of antioxidant found in some plants. Grape skins contain a polyphenol known as resveratrol. Red wine, produced from both the pulp and skins of grapes, is rich in resveratrol, which dissolves out of the grape skin as alcohol is produced during the wine's fermentation process. White wine, on the other hand, is made from only the grape pulp but not the grape skin and therefore does not contain appreciable polyphenols. The National Cancer Institute states that resveratrol shows promise as a compound effective against the three phases of cancer growth: initiation, promotion and progression.
Evidence
The National Cancer Institute reports specifically that resveratrol may help prevent prostate, breast and skin cancers, as well as leukemia, but does not mention brain cancer. However, in the April 2005 issue of "Molecular Cancer Therapeutics," researcher Hao Jiang describes a study in which cells from the human glioma cancer cell line U251 undergo a programmed cell death process, called apoptosis, when treated with varying doses of commercially available resveratrol. Jiang postulates this polyphenol interrupts the cell cycle of growing cancer cells, inhibiting their ability to continue to divide.
Considerations
Despite promising initial studies, resveratrol is not proven to prevent or treat brain cancer in humans. The apparent anti-cancer benefits of red wine reside in the non-alcoholic portion of this beverage, and consuming large quantities of alcohol may increase your risk of cancer, cautions the National Cancer Institute.
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