Alcohol consumption is a cancer risk factor and is especially linked with cancers of the throat, esophagus, liver, breast, and colon and rectum. According to the National Cancer Institute, this may be due to ethanol breaking down into compounds that damage DNA, proteins, and fats in our bodies. It can also impair the body’s ability to break down and absorb nutrients associated with cancer risk, and it can increase levels of estrogen, a hormone linked with breast cancer. However, many people swear by the health benefits of one type of alcohol – red wine.  Due to its antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties, some people wonder if it could help with cancer risk. A new study investigated that question.

Researchers at Brown University School of Public Health recently compared the cancer rates of red wine and white wine drinkers by conducting a meta-analysis of more than 40 studies on wine and cancer risk. The studies included data on nearly 96,000 people.

Eunyoung Cho, co-lead author of the study and associate professor of epidemiology and of dermatology at Brown, explains, “Our analysis included as many published epidemiological studies as possible that separately explored the relationship between red and white wine consumption and cancer risk.”

According to their findings, published in the journal Nutrients, there wasn’t a difference in overall cancer risk between red and white wine consumption.

However, there were two ways in which white wine consumption was linked with cancer incidence. One, women who drank white wine were found to have a higher cancer risk than those who drank red wine. Two, there was a 22% higher risk of skin cancer among white wine drinkers compared to red wine drinkers in cohort studies with long follow-up periods.

The researchers aren’t sure of the reason behind this skin cancer link, but they say it could be because high consumption may be linked with higher levels of activity dangerous for skin, like inadequate sunscreen application or use of tanning beds. 

Despite these differences, which the team says call for further research, the study shows that red wine isn’t really a buffer for cancer overall.

Cho says, “The results of our meta-analysis revealed no significant difference in cancer risk between red and white wine overall.”

You can read the whole study here.