It's that time of the year when people tend to consume alcoholic beverages a bit more often than usual. Before you imbibe, you might want to know more about the link between excessive consumption of alcohol and the increased risk for cancer.
John Lowe, DrPH, FAHPA, FAAHB, a cancer prevention specialist with Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center at The University of Iowa, joins me now on the phone.
What do we know about the link between alcohol consumption and cancer?
What we know is that there is definitely a link between alcohol consumption, the early stage of onset of drinking, the amount you consume, and different types of cancer. This has been known now for a number of years and we continue to demonstrate that indeed there is a link between alcohol and cancer.
How are different types of cancers linked to alcohol?
When we look at drinking alcohol, it increases your risk of mouth, esophagus, pharynx, larynx, liver cancer, specifically breast cancer for women, and colorectal cancer.
What amount of alcohol consumption increases the risk for cancer?
Obviously, the earlier you start to consume at levels, the greater risk you're at. But specifically, if we look at, for instance, breast cancer two drinks daily increase the risk of getting breast cancer in women by about 25 percent, and for a lot of things, that is substantial.
What we look at as a drink is 12 ounces of beer, five ounces of wine, or an ounceandahalf of 80 proof liquor. We also see a marked increase with five or more drinks in getting liver cancer. And of course, heavy alcohol use increases the risk of colorectal cancer.
How much alcohol consumption is considered excessive?
I talked to one of my colleagues who works in the field and is probably one of the world's experts, Professor Peter Nathan. He defined it well saying, "If there's a problem. If there's a problem, there's excess." So, not only do individuals not need to worry just about their increased risk of cancer, but all the other unfortunate events that happen. If you consume alcohol and it interrupts your daily life-if it causes a problem, you have trouble driving, you have trouble functioning, you argue with your spouse, you argue with your kids-then you have a drinking problem that is in excess.
What advice do you have for partygoers during this festive season?
One of the best public health messages is "if you drink, don't drive." The idea of a designated driver is good if you are going to have to travel. We don't know what the roads are going to be like here in Iowa City or Iowa with regards to ice, snow, whatever, but we do know that any consumption begins to impact your reaction time, your perception. It's just safer to have this zero tolerance, if you're going to drink, don't drive.
Where can our listeners receive more information about this topic?
There are a number of places:
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention
The National Institute of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse
The National Cancer Institute
Cancer Information Service at the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center |
