Alcohol and Cancer: The Truth You Should Know

Just because you want something to be good for you, that doesn’t mean it is. Although low to moderate doses of alcohol might have equivocal—and otherwise replicable—cardiovascular benefits, when it comes to the other C word, you’re out of luck. Here’s what you should know about alcohol and cancer.

 

The Basics

When we mention alcohol in our day-to-day conversations, we’re typically referring to ethanol, or drinking alcohol, a simple combination of two carbon atoms, six hydrogen atoms, and one oxygen atom.

The relatively versatile compound has a variety of uses, serving as a key component in antimicrobial solutions, medicines (as a solvent), and a potpourri of fuels. But perhaps its best-known role is as an addictive, mind-altering substance, one that has been part of the human experience for thousands of years.

History has at times been unkind to ethanol, shunned permanently by one of the world’s largest religions—think Islam—and temporarily by one of the world’s largest countries—think American Prohibition. In modern times, that same country has developed an ongoing love affair with the molecule, going out of its way to highlight studies that may reveal benefits of ingesting what in high doses can be outright dangerous—benefits like lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease, augmenting social interaction, and facilitating relaxation (albeit with rebound anxiety).

Of course, many such studies are funded in one way or another by the alcohol industry, including a large-scale project approved by the National Institutes of Health, later halted after a New York Times investigation revealed a sizable chunk of the funding to be coming indirectly from those with a vested interest.

But despite the unending desire to validate potential advantages of alcohol, not even the most powerful industry players would claim that the substance is oncologist-approved…

 

Where the Debate Ends

Unlike the hazy studies that point to alcohol’s potential upside, research that paints a less rosy picture is far more clear. Alcohol consumption, following a dose-response phenomenon, has been associated with a range of cancers, including those involving the mouth, larynx, esophagus, breast, liver, colon, and rectum.

A study in Lancet Oncology suggested that 4.1 percent of new diagnoses of cancer in 2020—or 741,300 cases—were attributable to alcohol consumption. Those numbers were felt to be an underestimate as they did not take into account former drinkers, nor were they applied to cancers for which the link to alcohol consumption has not yet been definitively proven.

How exactly does alcohol increase the malignant potential of certain cells? Numerous mechanisms are likely in play.

First, ethanol itself can damage cells with which it has contact, mandating compensatory cell division and repair that can be prone to errors and thus lead to cancer. Next, ethanol is metabolized to acetaldehyde, a widely accepted carcinogen that can bind directly to DNA. Alcohol can also increase levels of the hormone estrogen, perhaps explaining the link to certain types of breast cancer. Complicating matters is alcohol’s potential interference with the absorption of cancer-preventing nutrients, with folic acid being one such example. Finally, booze comes with a bunch of calories, bringing another cancer risk factor—obesity—onto the scene.

Although risks are greater at higher doses, no dose of alcohol can be deemed safe with regards to cancer. As a point of confirmation, the aforementioned Lancet Oncology study showed that the group of countries with the lowest rates of alcohol-related cancers included the likes of Kuwait, Libya, and Saudi Arabia, all known for strict rules regarding consumption.

 

Keeping It on the Down Low

Needless to say, those whose livelihoods depend on the sale of alcohol are not particularly interested in making a big deal about the aforementioned data. To such organizations, the idea of placing warnings on alcohol similar to those found on tobacco products is unnecessary. Similarly, according to these entities, providing caloric information, serving size, and such would only disrupt the hard work of the label artists and/or the writers who create those infectious little blurbs.

In their opinion, a more logical approach would involve continuing to spend millions on lobbying and marketing efforts, which together portray alcohol as a benign agent key for self-esteem and happiness. Who, after all, wants to consume a cancer-causing poison?

 

What’s the Bottom Line?

In our complex world, we make many decisions, including several potentially carcinogenic ones. The association between alcohol and cancer is real, as is the association between all sorts of other stuff and cancer. Your job is to simply know the facts.

Because in the end, you decide.