In the body, ethanol is metabolized to acetaldehyde by alcohol dehydrogenase and CYP2E1. Acetaldehyde is the main carcinogen that forms DNA adducts, N2-Ethylidene-2'-deoxyguanosine (N2-Ethylidene-dG), which can cause DNA damage and lead to cancer. However, N2-Ethylidene-dG is an unstable form at the nucleoside level and is difficult to measure.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF