Every Drink Increases Cancer Risk in Women

By April Clarkson, April 22nd, 2013 | Health | 0 Comments

Results from the Million Women Study conducted in the United Kingdom show that even low to moderate alcohol consumption significantly increases cancer risk in women, according to an article published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute .

Nearly 1.3 million middle-aged women (with an average age of 55 years) were enrolled in the Million Women Study. Researchers from the Cancer Epidemiology Unit at the University of Oxford performed statistical analyses of these women to determine the effect of moderate alcohol intake on cancer risk. They found that increasing alcohol consumption was associated with increased the overall risk of cancer, as well as the risk of cancers involving the entire gastrointestinal tract from the mouth to the rectum, the liver, the breast. However, increasing levels of alcohol intake were also associated with a decreased risk of thyroid cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and renal cell carcinoma of the kidney.

From their analyses, the researchers concluded that, among middle-aged women, moderate alcohol consumption increases the risk of cancer overall. Moreover, they commented that each additional drink significantly increases cancer risk. Although previous studies have shown that alcohol has modest benefits for heart disease in women, consult your doctor on the benefits and risks of consuming alcohol in moderation.