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Dr. Tori Hudson, Portland, Oregon, Blog Healthline Blog

Woman's hand up, refusing to drink red wine indoors, closeup.It might still be surprising to some readers, that alcohol is a leading cause of cancer.

Conversations and science about alcohol benefits and risks has been going on for decades, with the lingering thought in everyone’s minds, that moderate alcohol drinking was able to reduce the risks of heart attacks and strokes.  It has been thought for years that some alcohol daily may reduce cardiovascular disease, the number 1 killer in the U.S.  However, newer scientific studies have now detected methodology errors in the earlier studies and have challenged that view.  More recent studies have also linked moderate alcohol consumption to certain forms of heart disease, including atrial fibrillation, a heart arrhythmia.

We also now have the added knowledge that there are other issues besides cardiovascular disease and alcohol to consider, including growing research linking alcohol to various types of cancer.

Alcohol contributes to 100,000 cancer cases and 20,000 related deaths each year, in the U.S. The surgeon general has recently called for updating labels to include statements as to an increased risk of breast cancer, colon cancer and at leave five other malignancies linking alcohol consumption.  This label would have the similar intent as to cigarette packaging warnings.

The current thought in many people’s mind is that at or below one alcohol beverage a day for women and two for men, is safe.  However, the science no longer bears that out for cancer risk.

The risk for cancers of the breast, the mouth and the throat may rise with consumption of as little as one drink a day, or even less.  One of every six breast cancer cases is attributable to alcohol consumption.   The World Health Organization says there is no safe limit for alcohol consumption, however, and 47 nations require warnings on alcoholic beverages although cancer is rarely mentioned.

The surgeon general’s advisory provided an overview of research studies and reviews published in the past two decades, including a global study of 195 countries and territories involving 28 million people.  This overview found that higher levels of alcohol consumption were associated with a greater risk of cancer.

Other individual studies have looked at specific cancers.  The risk of breast cancer increased by 10 percent and mouth cancer by 40 percent, even with just one drink a day compared to individuals who did not drink.

For a deeper understanding, the absolute risk of breast cancer over a woman’s life span is about 11.3 percent (11 out of 100) for those who have less than a drink a week.  The risk increases to 13.1 percent (13 of 100 individuals) at one drink a day, and up to 15.3 percent (15 of 100) at two drinks per day.

For men, the absolute risk of developing an alcohol-related cancer increases from about 10 percent (10 of every 100 individuals) for those who consume less than one drink a week to 11.4 percent (11 per 100) for those who have a drink every day on average. It rises to 13 percent (13 of 100 individuals) for those who have two drinks a day on average.

 

The most widely accepted theory as to how alcohol is involved in inducing cellular cancerous changes is that in the body, alcohol breaks down into acetaldehyde.  This is a metabolite that binds to DNA and damages it, which then allows the cell to replicate uncontrollably and leads to the creation of a malignant tumor.

Research has also shown that alcohol generates oxidative stress, which increases inflammation and can damage DNA.  Alcohol also alters hormones which may increase the absorption of carcinogens like tobacco smoke particles which increase the susceptibility to cancers of the mouth and throat and tongue.

It’s important to realize that alcohol consumption is the third leading cause of cancer, after tobacco and obesity.   My advice is to save alcohol for special occasions, not daily.

While we’re on the subject of cancer risk reduction, here are some other high points of research that has shown risk reduction:

  • Mediterranean diet
  • Almost daily exercise
  • Weight management (work to avoid overweight and obesity)
  • Avoid nicotine in any form
  • Fresh air

Take care out there

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