4% of cancer cases diagnosed in 2020 worldwide

- some 741,300 -

could be associated with alcohol consumption, according to the results of a global study released today by "The Lancet Oncology."

The authors of the research - among others, experts from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in France - have urged greater awareness of the

link between alcohol and cancer.

In the study, it is estimated that men represent 77% -with 568,000 cases- of cases of cancer related to alcohol compared to women, who represent 23% -with 172,600 cases-, and it is pointed out that

esophageal cancers , liver and chest are the most common.

Based on data from previous years, scientists estimate that in 2020 there were

more than 6.3 million cases

of cancer of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, colon, rectum, liver and breast in the world.

Drinking alcohol has been shown to

damage DNA

by increasing the production of harmful chemicals in the body and affecting the production of hormones, which can contribute to the development of cancer.

"We urgently need to raise awareness among politicians and citizens about the link between alcohol consumption and cancer risk," stresses Harriet Rumgay of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in France.

It adds that "public health strategies such as reduced availability of alcohol,

labeling products with health warnings and 'marketing' bans,

could reduce rates of cancer caused by alcohol."

To reach their conclusions, the researchers established levels of alcohol intake per person per country in 2010 - to allow the time it takes for alcohol consumption to affect a possible development of cancer to pass - and then combined it with new cases Cancer Estimates in 2020 to estimate the number of alcohol-associated cancers in each country.

They considered a

"moderate"

consumption

between 0.1 to 20 grams per day -equivalent to up to two alcoholic beverages-;

consumption "at risk", from 20 to 60 grams per day - between two and six drinks per day - and "abundant", more than 60 grams per day, more than six.

They found that

globally

4% of all new cancer cases in 2020 were associated with alcohol consumption;

also that "risk" and "abundant" consumption led to the highest proportion of episodes with 39% -291,800 cases- and 47% -346,400 cases- respectively.

"Moderate" consumption led to 14% of those cases.

They found that the regions of East Asia and Central and Eastern Europe registered the highest proportions of cases associated with alcohol, with 6%, while the lowest were found in North Africa and Western Asia, both below 1 %.

"Trends suggest that although there is a decrease in alcohol consumption per person in many European countries,

use is increasing in Asian countries, such

as China and India, and in sub-Saharan Africa," say the experts, who believe that the pandemic of covid-19 has increased consumption rates in some countries.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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