Alcohol said to have big role in cancer

[slimvictor]

Even moderate alcohol use may substantially raise the risk of dying from cancer, according to a study released Thursday offering the first comprehensive update of alcohol-related cancer deaths in decades.

"People don't talk about the issue of alcohol and cancer risk," said Dr. David Nelson, director of the Cancer Prevention Fellowship Program at the National Cancer Institute and lead author of the study.

"Alcohol has been known to be related to causing cancer for a long period of time. We talk about cancer prevention, screenings and tests. This is one of those things that seems to be missing in plain sight."

Alcohol use accounts for about 3.5 percent of all U.S. cancer deaths annually, according to the study. The majority of deaths seemed to occur among people who consumed more than three alcoholic drinks a day, but those who consumed 1.5 beverages daily may account for up to a third of those deaths, the researchers found.

In 2009, 18,000 to 21,000 people in the United States died of alcohol-related cancers, from cancer of the liver to breast cancer and other types, the researchers said. That's more than the number of people in the United States who die every year of melanoma (9,000 in 2009) or ovarian cancer (14,000 in 2009).

Reasons unclear
How alcohol contributes to cancer is not fully understood, the study notes. Previous research has shown alcohol appears to work in different ways to increase cancer risk, such as affecting estrogen levels in women and acting as a solvent to help tobacco chemicals get into the digestive tract.

The study, published in the American Journal of Public Health, is the first major analysis of alcohol-attributable cancer deaths in more than 30 years. Researchers said the lack of recent research on the subject may contribute to a lack of public awareness of cancer risks.

"People are well aware of other risks, like the impact of tobacco on cancer, and are not as aware alcohol plays quite a bit of a role," said Thomas Greenfield, one of the study's authors and scientific director of Public Health Institute's Alcohol Research Group in Emeryville.

Researchers examined seven types of cancers known to be linked to alcohol use: cancers of the mouth and pharynx, larynx, esophagus, liver, colon, rectum and female breast. To link the cancer to alcohol use, they relied on surveys of more than 220,000 adults, 2009 U.S. mortality data, and sales data on alcohol consumption.

Breast cancer accounted for the most common alcohol-related cancer deaths among women, with alcohol contributing to 15 percent of all breast cancer deaths. Among men, cancers of the mouth, pharynx, larynx and esophagus accounted for the most alcohol-linked cancer deaths.

The study drew some criticism. Dr. Curtis Ellison, professor of medicine and public health at Boston University School of Medicine, said the study failed to take into account several important factors, such as the pattern of drinking rather than just the amount of alcohol consumed. He said consuming small, consistent amounts of alcohol is much healthier than occasional binge drinking.


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/health/articl...-big-role-in-cancer-4280659.php#ixzz2L0idlhqJ

 

[Portillo]

Regardless of this article, alcohol isnt demonized in the media like other drugs are.

 

[The Network]

Regardless of this article, alcohol isnt demonized in the media like other drugs are.

Unless someone under the age of 21 gets it. Then they start foaming at the mouth and condemning the parents and saying that the "Chicago police will be running another underage drinking prevention program at the community center this weekend". Or something.

Some kid's got H? EHHHHHHHH DOESN'T MATTER.

Fox news.

 

[MyDoorsAreOpen]

This is old news in the medical community. GI tract cancers (and in pregnant women, birth defects) are the two big drawbacks doctors are supposed to warn patients about after extolling the virtues of being a moderate drinker.

The lining of the GI tract grows and sloughs off faster than any other tissue in the body, making it highly prone to cancer by a simple numbers game. Therefore I'm surprised it's not the frequency of drinking alcohol (rather than the dose per episode) that correlates the strongest with cancer.

 

[lynx2051]

I couldn't give a shit. We're all gonna die from something, someday.

 

[MyDoorsAreOpen]

^ Doesn't mean the risks shouldn't be elucidated to those who want to make the choice. Yes we're all going to die. But the types of death brought on primarily by alcohol use are not particularly pleasant ways to go, and can take a real toll on the quality of life, both for you and people in your life.

 

[Clocktower]

Isn't it a little irresponsible to suggest that daily drinking is "moderate?"

 

[23536]

Ethanol is also a versatile solvent. So are mixtures of ethanol and water (i.e. alcoholic beverages). That admits a lot of carcinogens into the body, as solutes.

 

[MyDoorsAreOpen]

Isn't it a little irresponsible to suggest that daily drinking is "moderate?"

It really skirts the definition of moderate, to me. I generally am on the lookout for health problems in any patient of mine who admits to drinking alcohol -- any type, any amount -- every day.

Whether drinking a little bit every day is a red flag to me for potential addiction really depends on the person's physical and mental condition, family background, and ethnic background. It's just something some people seem to be able to get away with with few adverse consequences, while others can't. But enough can't that I don't generally recommend it. Having a glass of wine or cracking open a good quality beer once or twice a week is more along the lines of what I consider "moderate drinking" for most adults in the US, and is a much more common pattern actually.

 

[SarahU]

It really skirts the definition of moderate, to me. I generally am on the lookout for health problems in any patient of mine who admits to drinking alcohol -- any type, any amount -- every day.

Whether drinking a little bit every day is a red flag to me for potential addiction really depends on the person's physical and mental condition, family background, and ethnic background. It's just something some people seem to be able to get away with with few adverse consequences, while others can't. But enough can't that I don't generally recommend it. Having a glass of wine or cracking open a good quality beer once or twice a week is more along the lines of what I consider "moderate drinking" for most adults in the US, and is a much more common pattern actually.

Good point. It's nice to have a doctor's POV.

 

[MyDoorsAreOpen]

I should also add that drinking alcohol every day in the US is not economically encouraged. Alcohol is taxed in this country in such a way as to put at least a touch of financial pain on an average earner who drinks it regularly. Even assuming you drink one beer a day, and buy the cheapest beer from the cheapest source ($12 for a 30 pack of utter pigpiss, or about 40 cents a beer, is the cheapest I've seen), that's still about the cost of one of the cheaper utilities or monthly fees we all pay. And it only goes up from there. To have a pint of beer in a bar every day in a major city might easily run you a couple grand a year.

This only makes me more suspicious of a middle or working class American adult, especially one with a family, who admits to drinking alcohol every day. I know they know that money could be better spent.

 

[Portillo]

Isn't it a little irresponsible to suggest that daily drinking is "moderate?"

Drinking alcohol is ok as long as its done "responsibly". And if we encounter problems, we will simply "educate" the public.

 

[Si Dread]

Haha quote snap! Lol

Isn't it a little irresponsible to suggest that daily drinking is "moderate?"

I have to ask the same thing!

I have quite comfortably lived most of my adult life drinking ocassionally & rarely to excess. I have also drunk regularly, in small amounts. I don't often get pissed! In recent years however, I became bored & frustrated with work & began to drink alcohol during the day, to make to day go faster. I soon found myself unable to get through a day without alcohol, even if I drunk it in such small amounts that it appeared to have no effect. It's taken about a year to become habituated! Once I realised this was an issue, I ceased all alcohol use outside of work hours, then gradually replaced drinking with weed, which I've smoked for 25 years without serious habituation! I decided it's better to be a bit stoned than drunk at work Lol I have finally ceased alcohol (I think, I hope!) altogether, it's been about 3 weeks now & I'm getting ready to stop smoking in the morning too. Don't worry, I've not swapped alcohol for weed, I just needed something to do instead of drinking, & to compensate I stopped smoking when I finished work & only have one evening spliff now instead of two. My weed habit has barely changed, but the booze has slipped right off my radar.

I feel so much fucking better! While I was working on the booze, I was having morning anxiety issues which made the beginning of each day a real drag. This has gone almost completely with less than 3 weeks of sobriety! I also have ALOT more energy for work. I work physically & I've noticed that not only do I FEEL better at work generally, but I've now got an awful lot more energy for it. The government goes on & on about how debilitating to ambition the weed is but no-one mentions how depressing & demotivating alcohol is to the psyche.

The powers that be LOVE alcohol! They reap the HUGE taxes & they keep their population doped & sedated if not downright intoxicated! In all my years of compound research, despite a few stupid mistakes I have never felt more out of it on a drug, or suffered more afterwards, than I have done from drinking alcohol.

Strange that the Bible is so supportive of alcohol use, because of all the psychoactive compounds I have ever ingested, Alcohol is the only one I'd truly call The Devils Own Drug!

PS I do not smoke tobacco ever!