Editor: Stelios Vasiloudis
Resveratrol, which is also found in blueberries and peanuts, has been found to slow tumor growth in laboratory animals. Red wine was once claimed to be beneficial to health because it could protect the heart and even extend life expectancy. But while scientists have debunked this claim, they believe that at least one component of red wine – a compound called resveratrol – may have genuine health benefits.
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A trial launched this week will assess whether a low dose of the chemical, also found in red grapes, blueberries and peanuts, could help keep colon cancer at bay. The study, one of the largest cancer prevention drug trials to date, will involve patients who are at risk of the disease.
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“With the Colo-Prevent trial, we are starting a unique experiment to see if the drug could stop the growth of colon polyps,” said Professor Karen Brown, cancer researcher at the University of Leicester and lead investigator of the trial. “This trial could have big implications for how to prevent colon cancer in people who are more likely to develop the disease as they get older,” he continues.
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The trial builds on more than a decade of work by Brown’s lab, which previously found that pure resveratrol can reach the colon intact and slow tumor growth in mice.
The trial is recruiting people aged between 50 and 73 who have taken part in the NHS bowel screening program and have been found to have colon polyps, small growths which are usually not serious but can develop into cancer if left untreated. These patients will have their polyps removed and be given either aspirin alone or in combination with metformin (a diabetes drug) daily for three years as part of the main trial. Others will receive pure resveratrol or a placebo for a year as part of a substudy.
It is emphasized that there is no evidence that drinking red wine prevents bowel cancer and alcohol is a known cause of cancer.
All patients will have a colonoscopy to see if the polyps have started to grow again. If the trial is successful, any of the treatments tested could be offered to people who qualify for the NHS bowel screening scheme to reduce the risk of developing bowel polyps and thus the risk of developing colon cancer gut, in the future.
David Trusler, 66, from Market Harborough in Leicestershire is one of the first patients to take part in the Colo-Prevent trial and said he was doing it for his father, who died of colon cancer when Trusler was a teenager .
Trusler successfully battled prostate cancer 11 years ago and has been participating in the colon cancer follow-up program ever since. In June he had an abnormal result.
“My first thought was, ‘Oh no, not again,'” he said. “I was really worried about what they might find.” Doctors found no cancer but discovered two polyps, which could develop into cancer in the future. “I’m taking part in this trial for my father, to give future generations the treatments he never had,” Trusler said.
Brown said there are effective ways to reduce bowel cancer with lifestyle changes, including stopping smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, reducing alcohol consumption and eating red and processed meat. He added that: “Screening has made huge strides in detecting colon cancer in those most at risk. But to further improve outcomes, we need to prevent more colon cancers from occurring in the first place.”
Colon cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK, with around 44,000 people diagnosed each year, and is the second most common cause of cancer death.
Dr Iain Foulkes, executive director of research and innovation at Cancer Research UK, said: “This trial opens the door to a new era of cancer research where cancer is prevented through cutting edge science. The knowledge gained from the trial will change the way we think about cancer prevention and give more people the chance to live longer, better lives, free from the fear of colon cancer.”
Source: The Guardian
Source: www.zougla.gr
