Alcohol and raised cancer risk: Report

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDMay 1 2011

New figures reveal that alcohol consumption causes more than 5,000 cases of cancer in Australia each year and more than half of them are breast cancer.

These numbers come from the Cancer Council analysis that reveals the number of cancer cases caused by long-term drinking in Australia is far higher than previously thought, following strong international evidence of its link to a broader range of cancer types.

The analysis was published yesterday in The Medical Journal of Australia. It shows that more than 2,600 - or one in five - new cases of breast cancer in Australia are caused by drinking. Alcohol caused almost 1,300 cancers of the mouth, pharynx and larynx (41 per cent) and almost 600 cancers of the esophagus (51 per cent). It is also responsible for 500 bowel cancers in men (7 per cent), and is probably the cause of 400 bowel cancers in women (7 per cent). Overall, researchers attribute 5 per cent of cancers to long-term alcohol consumption.

Council chief executive Professor Ian Olver said, “Alcohol has always been associated with less common malignancies like liver and - in conjunction with smoking - head and neck. But evidence of its association with common [cancers] like breast and bowel makes the population impact far greater.” Professor Olver added that the new evidence of its link to a broader range of cancers made alcohol “one of the most carcinogenic products in common use”. Professor Olver said while the “risk from cancer starts from zero”, this also meant that, regardless of how much someone drank, reducing intake would also reduce risk. If they could keep within the NHMRC guidelines, their risk would be very low.

Cancer Council guidelines state there is no safe level of alcohol consumption, and abstaining altogether is the only way to eliminate the risk of developing certain cancers. Professor Olver explained that the risk was small for up to a couple of drinks a day but people needed to be aware that not drinking at all could further reduce their risk, particularly if they had other risk factors such as family history.

Research has also shown that only 9 per cent of Victorians are aware of the link between alcohol consumption and cancer risk, which new television advertisements aim to highlight. A new advertising campaign will begin today warning those who choose to drink to stick to the National Health and Medical Research Council guidelines, which would be two standard drinks a day.