Alcohol consumption increases cancer risk not only with abuse but also at moderate doses — this conclusion was reached by researchers from Florida Atlantic University.
In a systematic review published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology (CE), researchers analyzed data from 62 studies involving tens to nearly 100 million people and showed that both the frequency and volume of alcohol consumption are directly related to an increase in cancer risks.
The most convincing associations were found for breast, colorectal, liver, esophageal, gastric, laryngeal, and oral cancers. Alcohol also worsened prognosis: in individuals with alcoholic liver disease, liver cancer was detected at later stages and was associated with lower survival rates.
Particularly vulnerable were individuals with obesity, diabetes, chronic liver diseases, as well as members of socially disadvantaged and certain racial groups—even at comparable or lower levels of consumption.
The authors emphasize that the risk is formed not only by alcohol itself but also by a combination of biological and social factors: age of onset of consumption, gender, genetic predisposition, smoking, lifestyle, and access to medical care. Biologically, alcohol damages DNA through acetaldehyde, disrupts hormonal balance, increases oxidative stress, and facilitates the penetration of carcinogens.
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