A chemical found in wine could help to prevent bowel cancer, scientists believe.
Resveratrol, a natural compound mostly found in red grapes, as well as blueberries, raspberries and peanuts, will form part of a major trial to see if it can stop cancer developing.
Researchers are recruiting 1,300 patients for the ‘unique experiment’ across 60 locations in England and Wales over the next few years in one of the biggest ever studies in to preventative therapeutics.
Experts say it could have ‘big implications’ for people at risk of the disease.
The study will recruit people aged between 50 and 73 found to have bowel polyps when screened as part of the NHSÂ bowel screening programme.
A chemical found in wine could help to prevent bowel cancer, according to scientists (file image)
Resveratrol, a natural compound mostly found in red grapes, will form part of a major trial to see if it can stop cancer developing (file image)
These are small growths that are usually not serious but can develop into cancer if left untreated.
The polyps will be removed with patients given either aspirin by itself or a combination of aspirin and metformin, for the main trial.
Others will take purified resveratrol or a placebo as part of a sub-study.
Those in the aspirin and metformin groups will take the drugs daily for three years, while those on resveratrol or the placebo will take it for one year.
All patients will then be given a colonoscopy – when a long thin tube with a camera is to help doctors see inside the colon – to determine if the polyps have started growing again.
Professor Karen Brown, of the University of Leicester, said: ‘We are embarking on a unique experiment to see how drugs could stop bowel polyps from growing.
‘This trial could have big implications for how we prevent bowel cancer in people who are most likely to develop the disease as they get older.
‘Screening has made huge progress in picking up bowel cancers in those most at risk.
‘But to improve outcomes further, we need to prevent more bowel cancers emerging in the first place.
‘We can enhance those efforts by embracing therapeutic prevention, which uses our growing knowledge of the biology of cancer to find drugs which can stop it in its earliest stages.’
Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK, with an estimated 44,000 people each year – or about 120 a day – diagnosed with the disease.
Researchers are recruiting 1,300 patients for the ‘unique experiment’ across 60 locations in England and Wales over the next few years (file image)
Experts say it could have ‘big implications’ for people at risk of the disease (file image)
It is not always known what causes it, but the NHS advises people to exercise regularly, eat more fruit and vegetables, drink less alcohol and quit smoking to reduce their risk.
Previous research found purified resveratrol can hinder the growth of cancer cells in small doses.
Bowel cancer screening is also offered to everyone aged between 54 and 74 every two years.
People are sent faecal immunochemical test (FIT) kits – which look for blood in poo – through the post, allowing them to collect the sample at home.
Dr Iain Foulkes, executive director of research and innovation at Cancer Research UK, which is funding the trial, said: ‘This trial opens the door to a new era of cancer research, where cancer becomes much more preventable through cutting-edge science.
‘The Colo-Prevent trial is one of the biggest trials into therapeutic prevention in the UK.
‘The insights gained from the trial will change how we think about cancer prevention and give more people the chance of longer, better lives, free from the fear of cancer.’
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