A comprehensive meta-analysis of 42 observational studies has found no statistically significant difference between red and white wine consumption in relation to overall cancer risk, challenging the widely held belief that red wine is a healthier alcoholic beverage choice.

In the study, published in Nutrients, investigators from Brown University and Harvard Medical School analyzed data from 20 cohort and 22 case-control studies involving nearly 100,000 cancer cases across more than 2.8 million participants.

"We found no differences in the association between red or white wine consumption and overall cancer risk, challenging the common belief that red wine is healthier than white wine," the study authors indicated.

The investigators specifically sought to examine whether resveratrol, a polyphenol found in higher concentrations in red wine compared with in white wine, might confer protection against cancer. While numerous experimental studies have shown resveratrol's anticarcinogenic properties in laboratory settings, these benefits did not appear to translate to reduced cancer risk among red wine drinkers in real-world observational studies.

When comparing the highest vs lowest consumption levels, red wine showed a summary relative risk (RR) of 0.98 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.87–1.10) for overall cancer, whereas white wine showed an RR of 1.00 (95% CI = 0.91–1.10), with no statistically significant difference between the two (P-difference = .74).

However, subgroup analyses revealed some notable differences. Among women, white wine consumption was associated with a significantly higher cancer risk (RR = 1.26, 95% CI = 1.05–1.52) compared with red wine (RR = 0.91, 95% CI = 0.72–1.16]), with a P-difference of .03. Similarly, when analysis was restricted to cohort studies alone, white wine showed a significant association with increased cancer risk (RR = 1.12, 95% CI = 1.03–1.22), while red wine did not (RR = 1.02, 95% CI = 0.96–1.09), with a P-difference of .02.

The most notable finding emerged for skin cancer specifically, where white wine consumption was associated with a 22% increased risk (RR = 1.22, 95% CI = 1.14–1.30), while red wine showed no significant association (RR = 1.02, 95% CI = 0.95–1.09), with a highly significant difference between the two types (P-difference = .0003).

The investigators suggested several possible explanations for their findings. Regarding resveratrol, they noted: "A potential reason why we did not observe a difference in cancer risk between red and white wine may be that resveratrol has a fast metabolism. Although concentrations of resveratrol are greater in red compared to white wine, studies have demonstrated that resveratrol is metabolized quickly, with nearly 75% excreted via feces and urine."

Lead study author Rachel K. Lim, of Brown University, and colleagues acknowledged that their findings may have important public health implications: "Our findings provided a critical public health message that drinking red wine may not be any better than drinking white wine in terms of cancer risk."

The research addressed a significant gap in understanding alcohol's relationship to cancer. While alcoholic beverages have been classified as Group 1 carcinogens by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), previous studies had not comprehensively examined potential differences between wine types.

The meta-analysis included cancers of various sites, including lymphoma as well as skin, prostate, breast, colorectal, ovarian, lung, renal/urinary tract, pancreatic, brain, gastric, and oral/pharyngeal cancers. For most cancer sites, no statistically significant differences were observed between red and white wine consumption.

The investigators called for further research into the findings related to white wine's association with increased cancer risk, particularly skin cancer, in women and in cohort studies.

The authors declared no conflicts of interest.