A recent research has issued a stark reminder to the alcohol consumers across the US, as study discovered that the alcohol-related cancer deaths have doubled over three decades.
The latest study revealed that just one drink per day could raise cancer risk and that the impacts extend far beyond liver cancer.
Researchers at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, assessed over decades of Global Burden of Disease data.
A study, published in August in the Lancet Regional Health, discovered that annual cancer deaths attributed to alcohol exponentially rose to 11,361 in 1990 to 23,126 in 2023.
The findings associated alcohol consumption with a raised mortality risk from different kinds of cancer that includes breast, prostate, colon, rectal, stomach, pancreatic and liver cancers, along with head and neck cancer.
The most vulnerable population, older men, faced the heaviest effects, although scientists found raises across most cancer types, age groups and regions.
It is pertinent to mention alcohol has long been classified as a Group 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, positioning it in the similar category as tobacco smoke and asbestos.
Additionally, scientists indicate that lesser intake of alcohol can increase cancer risk. Elevated levels have been associated with intake levels of only 5 to 15 grams per day.
As per National Cancer Institute (NCI), alcohol has remained a major contributor in the growth of cancer in multiple ways.
The NCI stated alcohol consumption accounted for about 5% – nearly 100,000 – of the 1.8m cancer cases diagnosed in the US in 2019. It was also responsible for about 4% – nearly 25,000 – of the roughly 600,000 US cancer deaths that year.
Older men saw a particularly sharp impact in the August study. The alcohol-related cancer mortality rate among males aged 55 and older rose nearly 24% during the 33-year period.
Notably, the alcohol-related cancer mortality rate among males aged 55 and older significantly
Among men, liver cancer deaths had the strongest association with alcohol, followed by esophageal and colorectal cancers. Among women aged 55 and older, breast cancer was the leading alcohol-linked cancer killer, followed by liver and colorectal cancers.
