How Does Alcohol Consumption Impact Cancer Risk?
Which one do you think is higher each year in the United States: alcohol-related traffic fatalities or alcohol-related cancer deaths? It may surprise you to learn that the answer is alcohol-related cancer deaths with about 20,000 each year, compared with 13,500 traffic fatalities connected to alcohol.
Fewer than half of Americans are even aware that the consumption of alcohol can increase cancer risk, according to the AACR Cancer Progress Report 2024. The report also indicates that about 5.4% of all cancers diagnosed in the United States are attributed to alcohol consumption, with ties to six different cancer types: colorectal, breast, liver, stomach, esophageal, and certain types of head and neck cancers.
While the consumption of large amounts of alcohol in a short time (i.e., binge drinking) has been tied to a higher risk for cancer, another report issued by the AACR, the AACR Cancer Disparities Progress Report 2024, indicated that even light or moderate drinking can increase risk for certain cancers. And that the impact of structural racism can lead certain groups to consume more alcohol as it becomes a coping method to deal with the stress caused by racism or micro-aggressive behavior. It also reported that some lower socioeconomic areas had 65% more alcohol in outlet stores compared with higher socioeconomic areas.
Alcohol can lead to cancer in a number of ways. For one, when alcohol breaks down in the body, one of the components it produces is acetaldehyde, which can accumulate in cells and cause damage to the DNA. Alcohol can also induce oxidative stress, another reaction that can damage DNA, proteins, and cells, as well as increase inflammation. Levels of certain hormones, such as estrogen, can also rise due to alcohol consumption, which can increase the risk of certain cancers. Further, alcohol can also make it easier to absorb other toxins known to cause cancer, such as those in tobacco smoke.
U.S. Surgeon General Releases Advisory
Striking statistics like these recently led U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, MD, MBA, to release a new “Surgeon General’s Advisory on Alcohol and Cancer Risk.” The advisory calls for steps that could be taken to help raise awareness of the association between alcohol and cancer risk and ultimately reduce the number of alcohol-related cancer deaths. Among the calls for action would be updating the existing Surgeon General’s health warning label on alcohol-containing beverages, which has not been changed since it was established in 1988. Currently, the warning label on alcoholic beverages indicates a risk of birth defects when drinking while pregnant, mentions how alcohol can impair the ability to drive a car or operate machinery, and says alcohol can also “cause health problems.”
Adding any new statement, however, would require congressional action. In the report, Murthy mentioned that South Korea already requires a cancer-specific warning on its alcohol beverages and that Ireland recently signed into law a new requirement that all alcohol labels add the statement, “There is a direct link between alcohol and fatal cancers,” starting in 2026.
Other steps recommended in the advisory include raising general awareness through educational efforts and population-level cancer prevention initiatives, as well as encouraging clinicians to explain the association between alcohol consumption and increased cancer risk to their patients. Murthy also suggested that the recommended limits for alcohol consumption be reassessed given the evidence linking it to increased cancer risk.
Currently, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ “Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025” recommends that individuals who don’t currently drink continue to abstain. But, if they do start to drink, they should do so in moderation—and only after they reach the legal age of 21. Moderation is defined as one or fewer drinks per day for women and two or fewer for men.
According to the AACR Cancer Progress Report 2024, reducing alcohol consumption or stopping all together can lower the risk of developing alcohol-related cancers by 8%. It can also help reduce the risk of getting cancer of any type by 4%.
Similar to the “Surgeon General’s Advisory on Alcohol and Cancer Risk,” the AACR Cancer Progress Report 2024 also called for cancer-specific warning labels to be added on alcoholic beverages and more public messaging campaigns to raise awareness about this important issue.
To learn more about the connection between alcohol consumption and cancer risk highlighted in the AACR Cancer Progress Report 2024, read the articles from various media outlets, including CBS News, USA Today, The Guardian, Food & Wine, The New York Post, and more.
