A new study shows that alcohol consumption, including moderate consumption, can be dangerous for health.
About 4% of cancer cases detected worldwide last year are alcohol-related, according to estimates by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (Circ) released on Wednesday.
Some 86% of these alcohol-attributable cancers are associated with “risky and binge drinking” equivalent to more than two alcoholic beverages per day.
But a consumption "light to moderate" (up to two glasses of alcohol per day) still represents "one in seven cases attributable to alcohol, that is to say more than 100,000 new cases of cancer in the world ”in 2020, estimates the Circ, which depends on the World Health Organization.
The importance of "raising public awareness"
These results show "the need to implement effective policies and interventions to raise public awareness of the link between alcohol consumption and cancer risk, and to reduce overall alcohol consumption," commented one of the contributors. responsible for the Circ, Dr. Isabelle Soerjomataram.
Published in the medical journal
The Lancet Oncology
, the study listed seven cancers, totaling 6.3 million cases in 2020, the risk of which is increased by alcohol consumption: oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, colon- rectum, liver and breast in women.
Crossing this with data on alcohol consumption by country ten years ago, to give time for the disease to manifest itself, the researchers estimated that 741,300 of these cancers could be directly linked to alcohol.
“In 2020, the types of cancer with the highest number of new cases associated with alcohol consumption were cancer of the esophagus (190,000 cases), liver cancer (155,000 cases) and breast cancer in women (98,000 cases) ”, according to Circ.
Men weigh for 75% of cases
Mongolia is the country with the highest proportion of new cases of alcohol-related cancer (10%, 560 cases). It is in Kuwait, a Muslim country where alcohol consumption is prohibited, that it is lowest (just over 0%, or 5 cases). This proportion is estimated at 5% in France (20,000 cases), 4% in the United Kingdom (16,800), 3% in the United States (52,700) or even 4% in Germany (21,500). In addition, men account for about three-quarters of the total cancer cases attributable to alcohol (567,000 cases).
The study has limitations, however, said
The Lancet Oncology
in a
press
release.
On the one hand, it does not take into account the interruptions of care due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which may have led to the underdiagnosis of certain cancers last year.
On the other hand, it does not integrate the interactions between alcohol consumption and other phenomena such as tobacco or obesity, to which cancers can also be attributed.
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