How much should we worry about alcohol and cancer?

Mar 3, 2009 2:00 PM

I enjoy a decent glass of chardonnay at the end of the working week. So spending Friday afternoon reading about how even moderate levels of drinking can increase women's risk of cancer put something of a downer on my planned night out.

It's easy to dismiss bad news about alcohol as just another health scare, only relevant to people getting through a couple of bottles of liquor a day. But as I read on, it became clear that all women should take notice of this study.

The study itself was enormous, following well over a million women in middle age for an average seven years. Other risk factors for cancer, like smoking and being very overweight, were taken into account. The results were clear. Regularly drinking the equivalent of one glass of wine every day increases the risk of breast, liver, and rectum cancers. And if you smoke, alcohol also increases the risk of mouth and throat cancers.

The biggest increase in risk was for breast cancer. I’ll include the figures, because I find them helpful when thinking about risk. In developed countries like the US, the chances of having breast cancer by age 75 is 9.5 in 100. The study says that every extra daily unit of alcohol increases your risk by 1.1 in 100. So if 9.5 in 100 was your starting point, seven drinks a week would take it to 10.6 in 100. Two glasses of wine every day, and you’re looking at a risk of 11.7 in 100.

Interestingly, the study didn’t compare 7-drinks-a-week women with total abstainers. That’s because some people who don’t drink alcohol have had to stop drinking for health reasons, so they’re not necessarily a healthy comparison group. Instead, they used women who drank 1 or 2 drinks a week as their comparison. So did I stick to mineral water on Friday night? No, but the new research made me cautious about accepting a second glass. I’m aware that nothing in life is risk-free, and these figures will help me make a decision about the level of risk I’m comfortable with.

What you need to know. There’s little doubt that drinking regularly, even at moderate levels, can increase your risk of some cancers. It’s useful to know the figures, so you can make your own decision about what level of risk you’re happy with.

—Anna Sayburn, patient editor, BMJ Group

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