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Alcohol Increases Cancer Risk
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In the 2007 issue of Lancet Oncology it was reported by Bran and colleagues that heavy alcohol consumption increased the risk for cancers in women, with especially higher incidence of mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, liver, colorectal and breast cancers.
Between the years 1996-2001, about 1.3 million women from U.K. had participated in the famous Million Women Study for breast cancer research. Study participants were the women who were attending breast cancer screening clinics and completed surveys. On average, they were followed up for 7.2 years more. The data from this study was used later for another prospective cohort study which observed the relation of mild to moderate alcohol consumption and cancer. Women included were middle aged (median age 55 years), 75% of them consumed 1 drink per day (100g alcohol). Very few women used more than 3 drinks per day. Background incidence of cancer in non-drinkers of this age group was 118/1000 in developed countries.
The results show that even mild to moderate alcohol consumption increases the risk for cancers of specific sites in female body. Reporters said that each extra daily drink was associated with 11 additional breast cancers per 1000 women up to the age of 75 years; with 1 additional cancer of the oral cavity and pharynx and 1 additional cancer of the rectum; and with 0.7 additional cancers each for esophageal, laryngeal, and liver cancers. In smokers, mouth and throat cancers were also increased with concurrent alcohol use. In U.K. 13% of cancer cases of breast, upper aero-digestive tract, liver and colon; are attributed to alcohol.
In light of this study there is no level of alcohol that can be considered safe, as pointed out by Michael Lauer, MD, and Paul Sorlie, PhD, from the Division of Prevention and Population Sciences at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, in Bethesda, Maryland.
Although this study was done on middle aged women, similar results have been observed in studies on younger women of age 20-30years.
Read further in: Journal of the National Cancer Institute February 24th, 2009© Daxii.com
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