Moderate Alcohol Consumption Increases Cancer Risk

In the same week that the World Cancer Research Fund’s Policy Report1 which shows that between 11 and 22% of breast cancer cases in the US and UK are attributable to alcohol consumption was released, another study was published in the February issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute which showed that nearly 13 percent of combined cases of breast, liver, rectum, upper gastrointestinal tract cancers may be attributable to alcohol. The Million Women Study designed to investigate how various reproductive and lifestyle factors affect women’s health, enrolled 1,280,296 middle-aged women between 1996 and 2001, examined the association of alcohol consumption and cancer incidence. Over the follow-up period of over 7 years, 68,775 women were diagnosed with cancer. 

Women were asked to complete a questionnaire about their alcohol intake when they entered the study. Women were then ategorized into groups according to the total number of alcoholic drinks that contained about 10 g alcohol consumed per week. The average alcohol consumption for women in the study was one drink per day, while very few women drank more than three drinks per day, and one quarter of women did not drink at all. The association between alcohol consumption and cancer risk was not altered by the  type of alcohol consumed wine versus spirits or other types – did not alter the risk.

These results were evident after the effects of other potential factors which could have affected cancer rates, such as age, region, socioeconomic factors, smoking, body mass index, physical activity, use of oral contraceptives, and hormone replacement therapy were taken into account.

 

Type of alcohol	Volume	Alcohol content per serve	Alcohol content / 100 ml
White wine	125 ml	11.0 g	8.8 g
Red wine	125 ml	11.9 g	9.5 g
Beer	284 ml	9.1 g	3.2 g
Spirits	23 ml	7.3 g	31.7 g

 

As alcohol consumption increased, so did the risk of developing any type of cancer, as well as several specific cancers such as breast cancer. Results showed that each additional alcoholic drink consumed per day was associated with 11 additional breast cancers per 1000 women up to age 75. The authors suggest that “the high prevalence of moderate alcohol drinking among women in many populations means that the proportion of cancers attributable to alcohol is an important public health issue”.

“This sort of alcohol consumption is similar to the amount Australian women drink”, said Kellie Bilinski, NSW Breast Cancer Institute research dietitian. It’s also worth considering that each standard drink in the study was slightly less than a standard glass and many people also fill their glasses more than the 125 ml, so are probably having more than they realise.”

These results confirm those of other recent studies which suggests that there is really no safe limit when it comes to breast cancer risk. Although we don’t want to alarm women, it’s important to make them aware of the evidence so they can make an informed decision”, concluded Ms Bilinski.

Reference List

 

  (1)   Policy and Action for Cancer Prevention. Food, Nutrition, and Physical Activity: a Global Perspective.  2009.
Washington DC: AICR, World Cancer Research Fund / American Institute for Cancer Research.
Ref Type: Report

  (2)   Allen NE, Beral V, Casabonne D, Kan SW, Reeves GK, Brown A et al. Moderate Alcohol Intake and Cancer Incidence in Women. J Natl Cancer Inst 2009.

  Last Updated on Thursday, 13 August 2009 20:03