Background: Alcohol use is causally linked to multiple cancers. We present global, regional, and national estimates of alcohol-attributable cancer burden in 2020 to inform alcohol policy and cancer control across different settings globally.
Methods: In this population-based study, population attributable fractions (PAFs) calculated using a theoretical minimum-risk exposure of lifetime abstention and 2010 alcohol consumption estimates from the Global Information System on Alcohol and Health (assuming a 10-year latency period between alcohol consumption and cancer diagnosis), combined with corresponding relative risk estimates from systematic literature reviews as part of the WCRF Continuous Update Project, were applied to cancer incidence data from GLOBOCAN 2020 to estimate new cancer cases attributable to alcohol. We also calculated the contribution of moderate (<20 g per day), risky (20-60 g per day), and heavy (>60 g per day) drinking to the total alcohol-attributable cancer burden, as well as the contribution by 10 g per day increment (up to a maximum of 150 g). 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs) were estimated using a Monte Carlo-like approach.
Findings: Globally, an estimated 741 300 (95% UI 558 500-951 200), or 4·1% (3·1-5·3), of all new cases of cancer in 2020 were attributable to alcohol consumption. Males accounted for 568 700 (76·7%; 95% UI 422 500-731 100) of total alcohol-attributable cancer cases, and cancers of the oesophagus (189 700 cases [110 900-274 600]), liver (154 700 cases [43 700-281 500]), and breast (98 300 cases [68 200-130 500]) contributed the most cases. PAFs were lowest in northern Africa (0·3% [95% UI 0·1-3·3]) and western Asia (0·7% [0·5-1·2]), and highest in eastern Asia (5·7% [3·6-7·9]) and central and eastern Europe (5·6% [4·6-6·6]). The largest burden of alcohol-attributable cancers was represented by heavy drinking (346 400 [46·7%; 95% UI 227 900-489 400] cases) and risky drinking (291 800 [39·4%; 227 700-333 100] cases), whereas moderate drinking contributed 103 100 (13·9%; 82 600-207 200) cases, and drinking up to 10 g per day contributed 41 300 (35 400-145 800) cases.
Interpretation: Our findings highlight the need for effective policy and interventions to increase awareness of cancer risks associated with alcohol use and decrease overall alcohol consumption to prevent the burden of alcohol-attributable cancers.
Funding: None.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8324483 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(21)00279-5 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Blood-based epigenome-wide association study and prediction of alcohol consumption.
Clin Epigenetics
January 2025
Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
Alcohol consumption is an important risk factor for multiple diseases. It is typically assessed via self-report, which is open to measurement error through recall bias. Instead, molecular data such as blood-based DNA methylation (DNAm) could be used to derive a more objective measure of alcohol consumption by incorporating information from cytosine-phosphate-guanine (CpG) sites known to be linked to the trait.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: This study aims to estimate the impact of the co-occurrence of behavioural risk factors on mortality in the Spanish adult population.
Design: Population-based cohort study based on data from the 2011-2012 Spanish National Health Survey and the 2014 European Health Survey (n=35 053 participants ≥15 years of age) both linked to mortality data as of December 2022. Risk factors included tobacco use, high-risk alcohol consumption, low adherence to the Mediterranean diet, leisure time sedentary lifestyle and body mass index outside the 18.
Associations of Lifestyle Factors with Oral Cancer Risk: An Umbrella Review.
J Stomatol Oral Maxillofac Surg
January 2025
Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University / Second Faculty of Clinical Medicine, Kunming Medical University, Kunming 650101, China.
Background: Oral cancer is a common head and neck cancer malignancy that seriously affects patients' quality of life and increases the health care burden. Moreover, there is a lack of comprehensive reviews of previous research on factors associated with oral cancer. The aim of the current umbrella review was to provide a comprehensive and systematic summary of relevant studies, to grade the quality of evidence of relevant studies, and to provide guidance for the prevention of oral cancer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFrs762855 single nucleotide polymorphism modulates the risk for diffuse-type gastric cancer in females: a genome-wide association study in the Korean population.
Gastric Cancer
January 2025
Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Gyeonggi-Do, South Korea.
Background: Intestinal-type gastric cancer (IGC) and diffuse-type gastric cancer (DGC) exhibit different prevalence rates between sexes. While environmental factors like Helicobacter pylori infection and alcohol consumption contribute to these differences, they do not fully account for them, suggesting a role for host genetic factors.
Methods: We conducted a meta-analysis to explore associations between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and the risk of IGC or DGC.
Frequent Alcohol Use of Adolescents in Low-Income Families: Application of the Multiple Disadvantage Model.
Subst Use Misuse
January 2025
Defense Personnel and Security Research Center, Peraton, Seaside, California, USA.
Background: This study investigated relationships between low-income adolescent drinkers' frequent alcohol use and five factors: social disorganization, social structural, social integration, mental health, and access to healthcare.
Objective: A sample of 1,256 low-income adolescent drinkers and caregivers were extracted from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study.
Results: Logistic regression yielded results showing adolescent drinkers' weekly drinking to be associated positively with Hispanic adolescents, drinking peers, adolescents' depression/anxiety, and caregiver's daily drinking.
Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!