Downer MK, et al. – In this study, researcher determined if alcohol intake among men at risk of prostate cancer is related to diagnosis of lethal prostate cancer and if consumption among males with nonmetastatic prostate cancer is related to metastasis or mortality. In all, they found a slightly lower risk of lethal prostate cancer among cancer-free men who consumed alcohol vs abstainers. They also observed a lower risk of progression to lethal disease in relation to red wine consumption among men with prostate cancer. According to findings, moderate alcohol consumption is safe for patients with prostate cancer.

Methods

• The study sample for analysis of alcohol intake among men at risk of prostate cancer consisted of 47,568 cancer-free men from the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (1986-2012).
• A total of 5,182 with non-metastatic prostate cancer during follow-up was included in the analyses of alcohol intake among men with prostate cancer.
• The investigators assessed lethal prostate cancer and death in relation to total alcohol, red and white wine, beer, and liquor intake.
• They used multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs.

Results

• A lower risk of lethal prostate cancer was observed among alcohol drinkers without a dose-response link.
• Among patients with prostate cancer, there was no association of total alcohol intake with progression to lethal prostate cancer; however, a lower risk was observed in relation to moderate red wine intake.
• Compared with none, a lower risk of death was reported in relation to 15 to 30 g/d of total alcohol after prostate cancer diagnosis; the same was reported for red wine.