Study Finds Even Less Than One Drink a Day May Raise Cancer Risk
A new study is adding more credence to the belief that alcohol consumption can increase the risk of cancer. Here is a look at what the latest body of research is indicating about this risk.
Drinking Less Than One Drink of Alcohol Per Day Could Increase the Risk of Cancer
You might want to think twice before popping open that bottle of wine. A study published last month in The Lancet Regional Health details that deaths blamed on alcohol in the U.S. more than doubled between 1990 and 2023. Specifically, the authors noted that cancer deaths attributed to alcohol consumption jumped from 11,400 to 23,100.
What is most notable is that these fatalities were not just limited to liver cancer. The scientists found evidence pointing to an increasing incidence of alcohol-related breast, pancreatic, colorectal, and esophageal deaths.
According to Dr. Chinmay Jani, corresponding study author and chief fellow in hematology and oncology at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, “The most surprising finding was the breadth of alcohol’s potential impact across cancer types. Jani said that "Although its relationship with liver cancer is widely recognized, its contribution to cancers such as colorectal, esophageal, breast, pancreatic and prostate cancer is less well understood by the public.”
What is also concerning is the evidence that shows that it does not take a lot of alcohol to raise your risk of cancer. The researcher noted that there is an elevated threat with as little as 5 to 15 grams per day. For context, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines a standard drink as just 14 grams of pure alcohol. This means that the risk is present with a consumption of less than one drink per day.
About the Revealing Study
The study was conducted by researchers with the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, an offshoot of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. The researchers leaned on three decades of data gleaned from Global Burden of Disease in their findings.
The authors acknowledged some of the limitations of the study. This includes the overall observational design of the research framework, translating to an issue that could result in incomplete findings.
Dr. Gilberto Lopes, senior author and chief of the Division of Medical Oncology at Sylvester, noted that the data reinforces the previous theory that lifestyle factors may have a direct influence on cancer risk for some people. According to Lopes, “What this study makes clear is that alcohol-related cancer risk is not limited to one disease or one group of people." He also noted that "As physicians and cancer researchers, we have an opportunity to help patients understand that alcohol is a modifiable risk factor and that even small, informed changes can be part of a broader strategy to reduce cancer risk in our community."
The promising news for public health officials is that alcohol use is declining sharply across the U.S. According to a new Gallup survey, the number of Americans who say that they drink alcohol is now at about 54%. The survey found that 51% of American adults believe that drinking one or two boozy beverages per day is bad for your health. This compared to only 27% who believed alcohol consumption to be unhealthy in 2001.
The takeaway from this study is that while you cannot completely control the chance that you are diagnosed with cancer, there are clear lifestyle changes that can help to limit this risk over time. Reducing the intake of alcohol is chief among them.
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