The estimates of cancer cases attributed to alcohol may have been higher if past consumption had been accounted for, Dr. Abnet said. This workshop brought together basic, epidemiologic, behavioral, translational, clinical, regulatory, and communication scientists to discuss evidence gaps related to the role of alcohol across the cancer continuum. This wave of the Annenberg Science and Public Health Knowledge (ASAPH) survey was fielded Sept. 13–22 and Sept. 26–30, 2024. “Hepatocellular cancer is the sixth most common cancer worldwide, and incidence is increasing. Alcohol use is well known to increase risk of hepatocellular cancer among individuals with obesity, who have hepatitis B or C virus infection, or who smoke,” Justice wrote.
We’ve been able to use data like this from the Health Information National Trends Survey to really start to build our understanding of how the population thinks about alcohol. Cancer cases and alcohol consumption were highest in central and eastern Europe and eastern Asia, where hepatitis B is a common cause of hepatocellular carcinoma, according to the American Cancer Society. Rates of hepatitis B and this liver cancer have been high in the Asia-Pacific region, especially among men – as the study found. Taken together, if these gaps are filled, they could potentially change what we say about the effects of alcohol on cancer risk, how we communicate that evidence and affect drinking behaviors,” she said.
An essential round-up of science news, opinion and analysis, delivered to your inbox every weekday. The breakdown of alcohol can also produce reactive oxygen species, also known as free radicals. These molecules can damage DNA, and the gene changes that result can lead to a cell turning cancerous. Jürgen Rehm, Ph.D., received a salary and infrastructure support from the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.
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“This may make the estimates of alcohol-related cancers lower than previous studies, but they’re more precise,” said Dr. Abnet. The methods the WHO team used differ from those used in previous studies, Dr. Abnet explained. For example, instead of including all types of liver cancer, “they focused on hepatocellular carcinoma, the type of liver cancer that’s linked to alcohol,” he said. The NCI Alcohol and Cancer Risk Fact Sheet provides a broad overview of alcohol as a risk factor for cancer, and three recent papers explore Division interest in alcohol awareness (7,8) and research needs related to alcohol and cancer prevention and control (9).
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- 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.
- A study published in 2023 found widespread mistaken beliefs that the risk varies by beverage type, with the lowest cancer risk assigned to wine.
- The association between various levels of alcohol consumption and an increased risk of liver cancer remains difficult to interpret even with the pooled data used in this meta-analysis.
- Alcohol also reduces the body’s ability to absorb certain cancer-protective nutrients, including vitamins A, C, D, E and folate.
Nevertheless, via the prevalence of alcohol exposure the prevalence of alcohol-attributable and relative risk for the wider, unspecific liver cirrhosis and alcohol-induced disease categories (Rehm et al. 2010a). More than 30 conditions listed in the WHO’s International Classification of Diseases, 10th Edition (ICD–10) (WHO 2007) include the term “alcohol” in their name or definition, indicating that alcohol consumption is a necessary cause underlying these conditions (see table 1). Overall, even though AUDs in themselves do not rank high as a cause of death how to store a urine sample globally, they are the fourth-most disabling disease category in low- to middle-income countries and the third-most disabling disease category in high-income countries (WHO 2008).
While she says some studies suggest that there are compounds in red wine that offer cardiovascular benefits, there are plenty of other ways to keep your heart healthy. For example, this means that someone who usually has three drinks a week could reduce their cancer risk by limiting themselves to two drinks a week instead. “The important thing to remember is that every time you drink, you increase your cancer risk. The significantly greater risks seen in men carrying the low-alcohol tolerability ALDH2 gene variant who still drank regularly suggests that greater accumulation of acetaldehyde may directly increase cancer risk.
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A similar dose-response relationship exists between alcohol consumption and the incidence of atrial fibrillation4 (Samokhvalov et al. 2010b). On the other hand, for heart disease caused by reduced blood supply to the heart (i.e., ischemic heart disease), the association with alcohol consumption is represented by a J-shaped curve (Corrao et al. 2000), with regular light drinking showing some protective effects. The authors concluded that the cardio-protective effect of moderate alcohol consumption disappears when light to moderate drinking is mixed with irregular heavy-drinking occasions. 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. This meta-analysis found that alcohol most strongly increased the risks for cancers of the oral cavity, pharynx, esophagus, and larynx. Statistically significant increases in risk also existed for cancers of the stomach, colon, rectum, liver, female breast, and ovaries.
In the United States, a standard drink usually is considered to contain 0.6 fluid ounces (or 14 grams) of pure alcohol. This is the amount of ethanol found in approximately 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits. Thus, for example, a glass of wine often contains more than 5 fluid ounces and therefore may correspond to one and a half or even two standard drinks. There is a strong scientific consensus that alcohol drinking can cause several types of cancer (1, 2). In its Report on Carcinogens, the National Toxicology Program of the US Department of Health and Human Services lists consumption of alcoholic beverages as a known human carcinogen.
According to the federal government’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020–2025, individuals who do not drink alcohol should not start drinking for any reason. The Dietary Guidelines also recommends that people who drink alcohol do so in moderation by limiting consumption to 2 drinks or less in a day for men and 1 drink or less in a day for women. Heavy alcohol drinking is defined as having 4 or more drinks on any day or 8 or more drinks per week for women and 5 or more drinks on any day or 15 or more drinks per week for men. These amounts are used by public health experts in developing health guidelines about alcohol consumption and to provide a way for people to compare the amounts of alcohol they consume. However, they may not reflect the typical serving sizes people may encounter in daily life. Kara Wiseman is an epidemiologist and public health professor at the University of Virginia researching cancer prevention, alcohol use and smoking secession.
Trends for women differed slightly, with the highest proportions of cancer cases attributed to alcohol consumption found in central, eastern, and western Europe; Australia; and New Zealand. Overall, the team found that about 741,300 cancer cases in 2020, or 4.1% of the global total for that year, could be attributed to alcohol consumption. More information about alcohol and cancer, and about actions that individuals can take to reduce their risk of cancer, can be found in the European Code Against Cancer. Thus, the researchers estimated that within 1 year, more than 350 deaths were attributed to drinking by others, and more than 10 million Australians (or 70 percent of all adults) were negatively affected by a stranger’s drinking (Laslett et al. 2010).