A group of researchers from the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health in Brigham and the Women's Hospital in Boston found that light drinking, or one standard drink a day for women and two drinks for men, was linked only to a nominal increase in risk of all cancers. But, a daily glass of wine for women raised the chances of acquiring breast cancer significantly--regardless if they are smokers or not, since smoking is not linked to breast cancer.
The researchers made use of the data from two bulky U.S. studies -- the Nurses' Health Study for women and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study for men. These traced the health of 88,084 women and 47,881 men for up to 30 years. The researchers gauged the risk of total cancer, as well as known alcohol-related cancers including: cancer of the colorectum, female breast, liver, oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, and esophagus.
The research states that there is still a risk of cancer for light to moderate alcohol drinkers, and a higher risk for men who smoke. Women is also prone to breast cancer even if they are only light to moderate drinkers.
Light to moderate drinkers had relative risks of total cancer of 1.02 (95% confidence interval 0.98 to 1.06) and 1.04 (1.00 to 1.09; Ptrend=0.12) for alcohol intake of 0.1-4.9 and 5-14.9 g/day among women, respectively.
Corresponding values for men were 1.03 (0.96 to 1.11), 1.05 (0.97 to 1.12), and 1.06 (0.98 to 1.15; Ptrend=0.31) for alcohol intake of 0.1-4.9, 5-14.9, and 15-29.9 g/day, respectively.
For women, even an alcohol consumption of 5-14.9 g/day was associated with increased risk of alcohol related cancer (relative risk 1.13 (95% confidence interval 1.06 to 1.20), driven by breast cancer.
According to Sir Ian Gilmore of the Alcohol Health Alliance UK, there should be warning labels in the bottles of alcohols, similar to the ones in cigarettes, to inform the public of the risks.
"This research confirms the results of previous studies showing that there is no such thing as a safe level of drinking when it comes to the risk of cancer," Sir Gilmore said. "We all have a right to know what we are putting into our bodies and at the minute consumers are being denied this right. It's time that this changed; we need mandatory health warnings on alcohol labels so that people know the facts and can make an informed choice," concluded Gilmore.
