Scientists will launch a major new trial to determine whether a chemical found in red wine can help to prevent bowel cancer.
The study – known as Colo-Prevent – has been hailed as a “unique experiment” which could have “big implications” for people at risk of the disease.
Researchers will focus on whether resveratrol, a natural compound mostly found in red grapes, can slow the growth of cancer cells in small doses.
Previous research has indicated that the compound could be effective against the disease.
Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK and around 120 people a day are diagnosed with the disease.
Karen Brown, a professor of translational cancer research at the University of Leicester, is leading the study.
She said: “With the Colo-Prevent trial, 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.”
Around 1,300 patients are expected to take part in the trial across 60 locations in England and Wales by the start of 2028.
Participants must be aged between 50 and 73, have taken part in the NHS screening programme and been found to have bowel polyps, small growths that are usually not serious but can develop into cancer if left untreated.
Patients will have their polyps removed and will be 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 colonoscop to determine if the polyps have started growing again.
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.”
