In 2008, a study at P. Wilmot Cancer Center at the University of Rochester Medical Center showed for the first time that a natural antioxidant found in grape skins and red wine can help destroy pancreatic cancer cells by reaching the cell's core energy source, or mitochondrion, and crippling its function. The study is published in the March 2008 edition of the journal, Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology.
The study also showed that when the pancreatic cancer cells were doubly assaulted (pre-treated with the antioxidant, resveratrol, and then irradiated) the combination induced a type of cell death called apoptosis, an important goal of cancer therapy.
