Does Drinking Alcohol Increase Your Cancer Risk?

A sweeping new report by the American Association for Cancer Research highlights a steady decline in deaths due to cancer and improvements in the quality of life after a cancer diagnosis over the past three decades. The report found the overall cancer death rate in the United States has fallen by 33% between 1991 and 2021.

Despite a decrease in cancer deaths, data in the report shows that adults under age 50 have been developing breast cancer and colorectal cancer at increasingly higher rates over the last few decades, and points to alcohol consumption as one factor in the increase.

More than half of Americans do not know that alcohol consumption increases the risk of developing cancer, according to the report. In fact, alcohol is linked to six different types of cancer: stomach, esophageal, liver, head and neck, colorectal, and breast; data finds 5.4% of cancers in the U.S. are connected to alcohol consumption. And it highlights data that demonstrates reducing or eliminating alcohol consumption can decrease the risk of developing alcohol-related cancers by up to 8%.

The report recommends interventions by primary care doctors as a reliable, proven way to encourage people to reduce their alcohol consumption.

The new cancer report follows a large study published last month in the journal of the American Medical Association that found even moderate and light alcohol consumption increases the risk of dying from cancer compared to occasional alcohol consumption or abstinence.

The study analyzed data about more than 130,000 older adults living in Great Britain. It also found no cardiovascular benefits for moderate and light drinkers compared to occasional drinkers, dispelling the once-believed advice that regular alcohol consumption protects against heart disease. But the study did find that preferring wine and drinking only with meals reduced the risk of dying associated with alcohol consumption.

The U.S. Dietary Guideines for Americans recommend drinking less alcohol to improve health. They recommend no more than one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men. One drink is defined as 12 ounces of beer with a 5% alcohol content, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of 80 proof spirits.

The take-home message: Even though public health officials used to recommend moderate drinking to help prevent cardiovascular disease, new research demonstrates that alcohol does not prevent against heart disease. And it shows that even drinking small amounts of alcohol can increase the risk of developing cancer.