Sarah Walcher

Nevertheless, because these are the two most common types of cancer in developed countries after lung cancer, even a moderate increase in risk may result in a relatively large number of additional cases and therefore have important public health implications. Thus, alcohol causes cirrhosis of the liver in a substantial proportion of heavy drinkers, which then can lead to liver cancer. Several mechanisms have been postulated through which alcohol may contribute to an increased risk of cancer. Statistically significant increases in risk also existed for cancers of the stomach, colon, rectum, liver, female breast, and ovaries. A combined analysis of more than 200 studies assessing the link between alcohol and various types of cancer (i.e., a meta-analysis) sought to investigate this association in more detail. Some people, also particularly those of East Asian descent, have a form of this enzyme that causes acetaldehyde to build up when they drink alcohol.

Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences Program Areas

Studies show that alcohol may increase cancer risk in several ways. If you’re taking prescription medicine, including cancer treatment, ask your doctor if it is safe to drink alcohol. Drinking alcohol may also increase prostate cancer risk. It all starts with cancer risk awareness in the general public.

• A RR among the people with the variable (e.g., drinkers) of greater than 1.0 indicates that the variable increases the risk for the disease.
• It can also alter hormone levels and make it easier for the body to absorb other carcinogens like tobacco smoke, thereby increasing the risk of breast, mouth or throat cancers.
• Support for this study came from the Italian Ministry of Health, from the Italian Ministry of the University and Scientific and Technologic Research, and from the Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro.
• While breast cancer has been studied a good deal, we’ve made inroads in terms of understanding alcohol’s link to other cancers as well, including colorectum, esophagus, liver, mouth, throat and larynx.
• Moderating (or decreasing) alcohol intake is also a logical target for multi-behavioral interventions focusing on other health behavioral risk factors such as tobacco cessation.

For female breast cancer, the meta-analysis described here confirms the existence of a strong dose-risk relationship between alcohol consumption level and breast cancer risk. Concurrent tobacco use, which is common among drinkers, enhances alcohol’s effects on the risk for cancers of the upper digestive and respiratory tract. The accumulation of acetaldehyde has such unpleasant effects (including facial flushing and heart palpitations) that most people with this ALDH2 variant drink little alcohol and therefore have a low risk of developing alcohol-related cancers. For example, moderate drinking has been linked to a 10% increased risk of breast cancer compared to non-drinkers. (That’s not the case, by the way.) We have recently had many researchers studying alcohol and the adolescent brain, and I think that linking their findings to the development of cancers would really advance our understanding of alcohol and health risks.

Health advice for people who drink alcohol or are thinking of drinking alcohol

A statistically significant heterogeneity level indicates that results varied greatly among the various studies analyzed and that, therefore, an overall summary of average effect across studies must be interpreted with caution. To control for this possibility, the investigators included separate analyses for men and women in their statistical models, where feasible. Part of this variability may result from differences in the characteristics of the subjects included in the studies. Finally, the researchers evaluated the variability (i.e., heterogeneity) among the studies’ results according to methods proposed by Greenland and Longnecker (1992). And third, to ensure that the list of studies included was as complete as possible, the investigators conducted a manual search of the most relevant journals of epidemiology and medicine and compared their search results with those of other general reviews and meta-analyses published on this topic. Second, the investigators reviewed all references in the resulting articles to identify any studies that had not been found in the database search.

Historically, men have tended to start drinking alcohol earlier in life, Jani and his team noted. Where appropriate, investigators should consider co-occurrence of alcohol use with other cancer-related behavioral risk factors (e.g., tobacco use, sun exposure, physical activity, sleep disturbances) when designing interventions. Alcohol use is not independent of other risk factors, therefore research projects addressing alcohol as a target for cancer prevention and control should consider a multi-behavioral framework along with multilevel influences on alcohol use. Intervention development to limit or reduce alcohol consumption for cancer prevention and control and outcomes Mental health stigma research are in their formative stages

What is a clinical trial?

However, gender explained a significant portion of the observed variability in study results only for esophageal and liver cancer, but not for other types of cancers. For example, the gender of the study participants may play a role because potential differences Womens Residential Treatment in alcohol breakdown (i.e., metabolism) exist between men and women and may systematically influence the overall pooled estimates (Corrao et al. 1999, 2000). The researchers also investigated whether gender modified the effect of alcohol intake on the risk for each type of cancer.

However, it is important to consider the role of other environmental carcinogens in contributing to this risk. As I stated during the 4th International Conference on Alcohol and Cancer, “We need to start looking at alcohol in the context of the exposome—a measure of all the exposures a person has throughout their lifetime and their interactions.” Oxidative stress is a key factor in cancer development as it can cause an imbalance between the production of ROS and the body’s antioxidant defense system. It is important to note that ethanol metabolism by CYP2E1 typically occurs only at high levels of alcohol in the body, such as those seen in individuals with alcohol use disorder. Additionally, the metabolism of alcohol by the enzyme cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1) can generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), leading to oxidative stress.

Moderating (or decreasing) alcohol intake is also a logical target for multi-behavioral interventions focusing on other health behavioral risk factors such as tobacco cessation. Alcohol use can also have detrimental effects on cancer treatment, leading to prolonged recovery, increased surgical procedures, and higher health-care costs (3, 4, 5, 6). Recent estimates for the United States indicate 5.6% of cancer cases and 4.0% of cancer deaths are attributable to alcohol consumption (2). It is estimated that 5.5% of new cancer diagnoses and 5.8% of cancer deaths worldwide are attributable to alcohol consumption (1).

Q: What’s the link between alcohol and cancer, and how well known is this risk among researchers?

For laryngeal cancer, tobacco use also substantially influences the risk, though a strong association with alcohol consumption, indicated by a RR of 3.24, remained even when considering only studies presenting adjusted estimates. This finding indicates that alcohol itself only weakly increases the risk for lung cancer and that lung cancer risk primarily results from tobacco use, which is common in heavy drinkers. For all these types of cancer, significant increases in risk existed even at the lowest consumption level studied here (i.e., 25 grams of alcohol, or two standard drinks per day). To estimate the effect of alcohol consumption on the risk for each type of cancer studied, based on the pooled data from all studies included in the meta-analysis, the investigators used meta-regression models—statistical models developed specifically for such analyses (Corrao et al. 1999, 2000).

However, the guidelines also point to “emerging evidence” that even drinking within the recommended limits may increase the overall risk of cancer, heart disease or death. She noted that it can take at least 20 years after someone stops drinking for their risk of liver cancer to equal that of a person who has abstained from alcohol. Compared to smoking, doctors said, there’s less research on how long it takes to see reductions in cancer risk after a person stops drinking.

Risks start from the first drop

According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), a standard alcoholic drink in the United States contains 14.0 grams (0.6 ounces) of pure alcohol. Here you can find resources that focus on ways to stay active, manage your diet and keep your mental health in check—all tailored specifically to people living with cancer. Despite this, the question of beneficial effects of alcohol has been a contentious issue in research for years. The only thing that we can say for sure is that the more you drink, the more harmful it is – or, in other words, the less you drink, the safer it is,” explains Dr Carina Ferreira-Borges, acting Unit Lead for Noncommunicable Disease Management and Regional Advisor for Alcohol and Illicit Drugs in the WHO Regional Office for Europe. Alcohol causes at least seven types of cancer, including the most common cancer types, such as bowel cancer and female breast cancer.

Health Care Providers

Last, but not least, it is crucial to recognize that the adverse effects of alcohol are significantly influenced by the dose-response relationship, which considers both the quantity of alcohol consumed daily and the duration of consumption over time. Mutations in these BRCA1 and BRCA2 enzymes can increase the risk of developing breast or ovarian cancer. Acetaldehyde may also increase the risk of aerodigestive cancers, which include cancer of the lip, tongue, salivary glands, and other oral and nasal regions. The warning labels on cigarettes have proven effective in increasing awareness of cancer risk and decreasing use.

But awareness of the risk from drinking wine was similar in both those who had and hadn’t sought cancer information. Nevertheless, the research team also asked participants about the purported heart health benefits of alcohol, to see if it was related to their awareness about alcohol and cancer risk. There have been decades of public education campaigns about the health risks of tobacco, warning labels on tobacco products, and smokefree laws.

Despite the International Agency for Research on Cancer and the Department of Health and Human Services listing alcohol as a known carcinogen, public and provider awareness remains low (17, 16). A 2020 NCI workshop further highlights research gaps related to alcohol and cancer. Most people have firsthand experience with cancer in a family member or close friend, so they have strong incentive to avoid the disease.” “But if we can just change the narrative about alcohol, I think the public will respond. There are many misconceptions about the link between cancer and alcohol. “Each type of cancer is very complex — and multiple factors might raise the risk,” she says.

• Learn how these effective alcohol policies work to protect people from alcohol-related harms, including increasing the risk of cancer.
• She noted that it can take at least 20 years after someone stops drinking for their risk of liver cancer to equal that of a person who has abstained from alcohol.
• In the new report, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy outlines the scientific evidence linking alcohol to cancer and offers recommendations to reduce rates of alcohol-related cancers.
• It estimates that alcohol contributes to nearly 100,000 cancer cases and about 20,000 cancer deaths annually.
• In conclusion, women are at a heightened risk of alcohol-related cancers, particularly breast cancer.

The tone and the way it was presented just wasn’t helpful for people, and it didn’t help motivate behavior change. What’s interesting is that the public hasn’t appreciated that link. “As a result, tobacco use has decreased significantly. She reports on health, science and the environment and is a graduate of the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at City University of New York. Drinking also rose sharply during the pandemic, as did alcohol-related deaths. In men specifically, liver cancer deaths were most common.

It is important to consider the possibility that alcohol can increase the risk of cancer recurrence or a second cancer. However, researchers have found no association between moderate consumption of red wine and the risk of developing prostate cancer (33) or colorectal cancer (34). The plant secondary compound resveratrol, found in grapes used to make red wine and some other plants, has been investigated for many possible health effects, including cancer prevention. Among people of Japanese ancestry, those who have this form of ADH have a higher risk of pancreatic cancer than those with the more common form of ADH (30). Using data from Australia, recalculated using US standard drinks, the recent Surgeon General’s Advisory reports that

This recommendation is based on strong, consistent, and growing evidence that drinking alcohol increases your risk of developing a cancer. Vivek Murthy, M.D., has called for updating the warning labels on alcohol to include increased risks of at least 7 types of common cancers, including breast, colon and liver. Seidenberg, Klein, and their colleagues found 65% of people surveyed would support adding more information about health risks to labels the physical and mental benefits of quitting alcohol on alcohol containers, and those who were aware of the cancer risk were more likely to support additional labeling. People who said they had searched for cancer information were more likely to know about the cancer risks posed by drinking beer and by drinking liquor than those who did not. The nearly 4,000 people who took part in the survey were asked how much does drinking several types of alcohol (wine, beer, and liquor) affect the risk of getting cancer.

And health care providers can clearly play an important role in raising awareness, Dr. Klein said. “System-level change, like regulations requiring health warning labels on cigarettes, would have been nearly impossible without greater awareness,” Dr. Klein said. Researchers and health professionals can do more to help break down these misconceptions, Dr. LoConte added. “This study gets to the root of where that belief maybe comes from, that hard liquor is worse for you in some way.” It also found that, even among those who are aware, there’s a belief that it varies by the type of alcohol. A lot of that has been difficult to validate in further studies,” said Dr. William Dahut, chief scientific officer for the American Cancer Society.