{"id":27258,"date":"2021-07-14T09:56:14","date_gmt":"2021-07-14T09:56:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.cancerresearchuk.org\/?p=23311"},"modified":"2024-11-03T15:14:35","modified_gmt":"2024-11-03T15:14:35","slug":"alcohol-linked-to-more-than-740000-new-cancer-cases-globally-in-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/alcohol-linked-to-more-than-740000-new-cancer-cases-globally-in-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Alcohol linked to more than 740,000 new cancer cases globally in 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Woman<\/div>\n

1 in 25 newly diagnosed cancer cases in the last year may be associated with drinking alcohol, according to a global study published in The Lancet Oncology<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

The study calculated that 17,000 cases of cancer in the UK in 2020 could be linked to alcohol consumption.<\/p>\n

The authors of the paper are calling for greater public awareness of the link between alcohol and cancers, and increased government interventions to reduce alcohol consumption in worst-affected regions.<\/p>\n

Michelle Mitchell, Cancer Research UK\u2019s chief executive, said: \u201cThis research demonstrates there\u2019s still lots of work to do to prevent alcohol-related cancers. There\u2019s strong evidence that drinking alcohol can cause 7 types of cancer and the more someone drinks, the greater their risk.\u201d<\/p>\n

How does alcohol cause cancer?<\/h2>\n

Alcohol consumption has been shown to cause damage to DNA<\/a> by increasing the production of harmful chemicals in the body. It can also affect hormone production, which can contribute to cancer development, and worsen the cancer-causing effects of other substances, such as tobacco.<\/p>\n

Overall, drinking alcohol is known to increase the risk of 7 different types of cancer, including breast, mouth and bowel cancer.<\/p>\n

The study found that \u201crisky\u201d and heavy drinking were associated with the largest proportion of cancer cases, but even moderate levels of drinking was linked to almost 1 in 7 of all alcohol-associated cases.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no \u2018safe\u2019 level of drinking, but whatever your drinking habits, cutting down can reduce your risk of cancer,\u201d said Mitchell.<\/p>\n

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How did the study classify the \u2018levels\u2019 of drinking?<\/h3>\n

The different levels of drinking were defined by the daily amount of alcohol consumption per day in grams \u2013 these are grams of pure alcohol, not grams of alcoholic drink:<\/p>\n