Drinking wine or beer could lessen the risk of kidney cancer, says a recent Swedish study. The researchers at Stockholm’s Karolinska Institute studied the relation between intake of different types of alcoholic drinks and the chance of developing kidney cancer.

The study, published in the British Journal of Cancer, considered 855 people suffering from kidney cancer and a control group of 1,204 people who did not have any problem. They reported on their consumption of wine, beer, fortified wine and spirits.

The study, led by Professor Alicja Wolk, discovered that the possibility of having kidney cancer was 40 percent lower for those who ingested 620 grammes of alcohol each month as compared with those who did not drink at all.

The investigators found that the risk was decreased in people who drank over two glasses of red wine every week, or comparable amounts of white wine or normal-strength beer. They also found that intake of lighter beers, fortified wines and spirits was not related to a reduced risk of cancer.

The researchers believe that the relationship between alcohol and the reduced risk of kidney cancer could be because of the presence of antioxidants and antimutagenics in some drinks.