Alcohol has always been a villain in cancer stories. But its negative properties were highlighted in a recent study that said that alcohol can lead to seven kinds of cancer, say scientists at the University of Otago in New Zealand. They found links between the drink and "cancer of the breast, bowel, liver, colon, oesophagus, larynx, throat and mouth."
"Many people believe that alcohol consumption is only linked to liver cancer. But this review confirms it is strongly linked to an increased risk of a number of different cancers, including two of the most common - bowel and breast cancer. Among other evidence, we see the risk increasing as the amount of alcohol consumed increases, and we agree that there is solid evidence to conclude that alcohol consumption directly causes cancer," said science programme manager for the World Cancer Research Fund, Susannah Brown explains.
Even the health benefits of drinking, such as red wine being good for the heart were said to be false, according to Connot. The advantages of alcohol were "seen increasingly as irrelevant in comparison to the increase in the risk of a range of cancers."
"There is strong evidence that alcohol causes cancer at seven sites, and probably others. Confirmation of specific biological mechanisms by which alcohol increases the incidence of each type of cancer is not required to infer that alcohol is a cause," Connor writes in journal Addiction.
Media sources report the Otago findings that "for every 1,000 women who don't drink, 109 will develop breast cancer. But this number goes up to 126 women when 14 units are consumed in a week and 153 women when 14-35 units are consumed."
Thus, regular female drinkers of two units per day can face a 16 percent increased threat from breast cancer. women consuming five units a day face a 40 percent increased risk.
But ultimately, contrary to the belief that heavy drinking leads to cancer, the study shows that even low amounts of alcohol may lead to the illness. As per University of Otago's Jennie Connor said, there is "no safe boozing level" for cancer patients.
