Study: A drink a day may cause an increased risk of numerous cancers
TheGrio...
What was once considered a normalcy of American life has shifted, according to a pair of University of Miami doctors, as the announcement comes months after the Trump Administration suggested people should drink less for better overall health.
A brand new study has revealed that alcohol may create an increased risk of numerous cancers that could lead to death in the United States.
According to Dr. Chinmay Jani, despite overall cancer mortality declining, the proportion of cancer deaths tied to alcohol has risen to nearly 60 percent in individuals 20 and older since 1993.
“Overall, we know alcohol is closely related to liver cancer mortality,” Jani, the chief clinical fellow in hematology and oncology at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center of the University of Miami, said. “Notably, among adults aged 20 to 54, colorectal cancer was the leading cause of alcohol-attributable cancer mortality in men and the second leading cause in women, surpassing liver cancer in both groups.”
The cancers in particular with an increased risk of death due to alcohol consumption include breast, prostate, colon, rectum, stomach, pancreatic, liver cancers and cancers of the head and neck.
Per Jani, all it takes is one drink a day to raise one’s risk of possible cancers.
Federal guidelines in the past have recommended Americans limit their drinking to two standard drinks a day for men and one a day for women. A standard drink is considered 12 ounces of regular beer, 5 ounces of wine or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof liquor. However, the Trump Administration in January removed those limits, suggesting that people should “consume less alcohol for better overall health.”
“What this study makes clear is that alcohol-related cancer risk is not limited to one disease or one group of people,” Dr. Gilberto Lopes, chief of the Division of Medical Oncology at the University of Miami, said. “As physicians and cancer researchers, we have an opportunity to help patients understand that alcohol is a modifiable risk factor and that even small, informed changes can be part of a broader strategy to reduce cancer risk in our community.”
The University of Miami study builds on findings from the 2023 Alcohol Intake and Health Study. Despite pushback from some members of Congress and alcohol trade groups, the study was published in a scientific journal and had previously been sidelined by the Trump Administration.