New study links alcohol to seven types of cancer

Alcohol is a “direct cause” of seven types of cancer, and even moderate consumption is a risk, according to the results of a new study.

A new report has revealed that drinking alcohol is a direct cause of cancer

The study, published in the scientific journal Addiction, has revealed that there is now enough credible evidence to say that drinking alcohol is a direct cause of the disease.

In a fresh analysis of evidence accumulated over the past 10 years by the World Cancer Research Fund, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the World Health Organisation’s cancer body, and other authoritative bodies, the study found that cancer of the mouth and throat, larynx, oesophagus, liver, colon, bowel and breast are all linked to the consumption of alcohol.

While the highest risks are among heavy drinkers, people who drink smaller amounts are also at risk – however scientists say they are unsure of the exact biological reasons why alcohol causes cancer.

Author Jennie Connor, of the preventive and social medicine department at Otago University in New Zealand, said: “There is strong evidence that alcohol causes cancer at seven sites in the body and probably others.

“Even without complete knowledge of biological mechanisms, the epidemiological evidence can support the judgment that alcohol causes cancer of the oropharynx, larynx, oesophagus, liver, colon, rectum and breast.

“The highest risks are associated with the heaviest drinking but a considerable burden is experienced by drinkers with low to moderate consumption, due to the distribution of drinking in the population.”

Professor Connor also questioned the notion of “health benefits” from drinking alcohol, and said they were “increasingly as disingenuous or irrelevant in comparison to the increase in risk of a range of cancers”.