Patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma who drank wine before their diagnosis appeared to have a reduced risk of relapse according to an epidemiology study presented at the American Association for Cancer Research 100th Annual Meeting 2009.

The researchers looked at more than 500 women with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and found that, overall, those who drank wine before their diagnosis had a 76% five-year survival rate, compared with 68% for those who didn’t drink wine. The five-year, disease-free survival rate was 70% for wine drinkers and 65% for non-wine drinkers.

Further analysis by the Yale School of Public Health team revealed that patients who drank wine for at least 25 years before their diagnosis had a 25% to 35% reduced risk of relapse, secondary cancer or death.

The strongest link between wine consumption and improved outcomes was among patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Overall, they had a 40% to 50% reduced risk of relapse, secondary cancer or death, while those who drank wine for 25 years or more had about a 60% reduced risk.

Drinking beer or liquor had no beneficial effect. According to the researchers, the findings need to be replicated before any public health recommendations are made, but the study offers further evidence that moderate consumption of wine has health benefits.

First author and doctoral candidate Xuesong Han commented that “this conclusion is controversial, because excessive drinking has a negative social and health impact, and it is difficult to define what is moderate and what is excessive. However, we are continually seeing a link between wine and positive outcomes in many cancers.”

The research was presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting, in Denver. For more information, visit http://www.aacr.org