How much alcohol does it take to enhance your risk of cancer?

The surgeon general of the U.S. Public Health Service warned Friday that even airy or moderate alcohol consumption may enhance the risk of cancer.

In new reportDr. Vivek Murthy, the surgeon general, said alcohol consumption is directly linked to at least seven types of cancer, including cancers of the mouth, throat, larynx, esophagus, breast, liver, colon and rectum. In 2020, 741,300 cases of cancer worldwide were attributable to alcohol consumption.

However, public awareness of this link is low: According to data, only 45 percent of Americans believe that alcohol has a significant impact on cancer risk. nationwide survey from 2019 by the American Institute of Cancer Research.

Research has shown that the more alcohol someone drinks – especially the more they drink regularly over time – the greater their risk of developing cancer. The association applies to all types of alcohol: beer, wine and spirits.

But even what we consider “airy” or “moderate” drinking – up to one drink a day – increases the risk of some cancers, such as mouth, throat and breast.

“There is no sheltered level of alcohol when it comes to cancer risk,“ said Dr. Ernest Hawk, vice president and chief of cancer prevention and population sciences at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

The amount of alcohol you drink affects your risk.

The surgeon general’s report found that a standard drink contains 14 grams of alcohol – about the same amount as a 5-ounce glass of wine, a 12-ounce beer or a 1.5-ounce shot of alcohol. The report analyzed the evidence for cancer based on how much people eat per day or week.

Less than one drink per week: Research on the association of very airy drinking with cancer is narrow. The surgeon general’s report examined the so-called absolute risk – or the chance of a particular outcome over a given period – of specific cancers at different levels of alcohol consumption. To do this, he looked at the data from the file Australian study almost a quarter of a million adults published in 2020

The report found that on average, about 17 in 100 women who drank one drink a week or less will develop alcohol-related cancer during their lifetime. About 11 in 100 women will develop breast cancer, which is considered an alcohol-related cancer. Research suggests that alcohol may enhance levels of estrogen, a sex hormone linked to breast cancer.

Men who drank less than one drink a week had about a 10% risk of developing alcohol-related cancer in their lifetime.

Researchers considered this “less than one drink per week” group as the reference group to which they compared higher levels of alcohol consumption. Like many studies, they did not include non-drinkers to avoid the so-called “ailing quitter effect” – which occurs when study data is confounded by people who have stopped drinking due to illness.

One drink every day: For years, it was widely believed that low to moderate amounts of alcohol were good for your health, especially your heart. However, in recent years, more research has shown that even one drink a day is associated with greater health risks.

The surgeon general’s report found that the lifetime risk of alcohol-related cancer increased to 19 percent (19 in 100 women) among people who drank one alcoholic drink a day (seven drinks a week). At this level, the lifetime risk of breast cancer increased to 13.1 percent, or 13 in 100 women.

The surgeon general’s report found that among men who drink one drink a day, on average, about 11 in 100 men will develop alcohol-related cancer in their lifetime.

Although the absolute enhance in risk may seem petite, it reflects a significantly increased relative risk compared with people drinking less alcohol.

A 2013 study in the Annals of Oncology that specifically examined the link between “airy drinking” and cancer found that, compared to people who didn’t drink, those who drank up to one alcoholic beverage a day had a lower risk of 30 percent greater risk of developing esophageal cancer17 percent greater risk of oropharyngeal cancer and 5 percent greater risk of breast cancer.

Two drinks a day: At two drinks a day (14 a week), the percentage of women who would develop alcohol-related cancer in their lifetime increased from 16.5 (in the group of people drinking less than one drink a week) to almost 22 percent, according to the study report of the Surgeon General . The percentage of those who will develop breast cancer has increased to 15.3%.

Among men who drank at this level, the rate of developing alcohol-related cancer in their lifetime increased to 13 percent.

Four or more drinks a day: In addition to being linked to cancers of the mouth, oropharynx, larynx, esophagus, breast and colon area, excessive drinking – generally defined as four or more drinks a day – may be linked to cancers of the liver, stomach, gallbladder and pancreas.

A huge meta-analysis comparing airy, moderate, and hefty drinkers with nondrinkers and occasional drinkers found that hefty drinkers had more than twice the relative risk of liver and gallbladder cancer compared to non-drinkers and occasional drinkers. Their risk of stomach, lung and pancreatic cancer was approximately 15 to 20 percent higher.

Drinking four or more drinks in two hours is considered binge drinking for women, while drinking five or more drinks qualifies as binge drinking for men. Although binge drinking causes many known harms, most human studies have not considered differences in cancer risk between drinking a huge amount at one time and drinking the same amount over several days, said Dr. Timothy Naimi, director of the Canadian Institute for Substance Operate Research at the University of Victoria . “This is an area of ​​need for future research.”

Other risk factors also matter.

Although the report focuses specifically on alcohol consumption levels, many other factors – including gender, genetics, diet and family history – also play a role in the impact of alcohol consumption on cancer risk.

For example, it takes less alcohol to have a negative impact on women’s health than it does for men, possibly because women metabolize alcohol longer and it stays in their bodies for a longer time.

Experts say anyone who has genetic mutations or a family history that predisposes them to these types of cancers would start out with a higher baseline risk of developing cancer.

Certain behaviors and lifestyle choices may also enhance the risk of alcohol-related cancers. For example, drinking and smoking cigarettes are known to enhance the risk of head and neck cancers, says Elizabeth Platz, a cancer epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Drinking alcohol with destitute diet and exercise can further enhance your risk of being overweight or obese, another disease linked to cancer.

Drinking less reduces (partly) your risk.

This was recently discovered by a working group of the International Agency for Research on Cancer quitting smoking for a long time or reducing alcohol consumption has been associated with a reduced risk of oral and esophageal cancer. However, it is unclear whether or when reducing treatment will bring the risk back to baseline, according to the surgeon general’s report.

Dr Naimi said that even for people who drink more, limiting the amount of alcohol they drink to some extent will have health benefits in the long run. “Less is better,” he said.