Incidence rates of breast and colon cancer in adults under 50 have been increasing over the past 60 years, and alcohol consumption may be one of the factors driving the trend, according to a scientific report released Wednesday.
of ReportThe report from the American Cancer Society highlights the scientific advances that have led to the development of new anti-cancer drugs and improved overall survival rates.
But the authors also describe worrying trends: Despite declining cancer death rates, the overall incidence of several cancers has been inexplicably rising, with particularly alarming increases in cancers of the digestive system, such as colorectal cancer, among young adults.
The report estimates that 40 percent of all cancer cases are associated with modifiable risk factors.The report recommends lifestyle changes such as avoiding smoking, maintaining a healthy diet and weight, exercising, avoiding UV rays, and minimizing exposure to pollutants, as well as reducing alcohol intake.
The authors called for raising awareness through public messaging campaigns and for cancer warning labels on alcoholic beverages.
The recommendation comes amid a fundamental reassessment of the health benefits of moderate alcohol consumption, long thought to help prevent heart disease.
last month, Large-scale study A study following more than 135,000 older British people for over 10 years found that moderate and light drinkers did not benefit from reduced heart disease compared with occasional drinkers.
Moderate and light drinkers also had higher cancer mortality rates than occasional drinkers, and this trend was particularly pronounced among lower-income older adults and those with existing health problems.
“51 percent of people — more than half of the population — don’t know that alcohol increases cancer risk,” said Jane Figueiredo, an epidemiologist at the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and a member of the steering committee that produced the report. “This is alarming.”
“There is a myth that red wine has cardiovascular benefits, but there are many ways to keep your heart healthy and these potential benefits do not actually outweigh the cancer risks,” she said.
The report said excessive alcohol consumption increases the risk of six types of cancer, including squamous cell cancer of the esophagus, certain types of head and neck cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer, liver cancer and stomach cancer.
In 2019, the most recent year for which data is available, approximately 5.4% of cancers in the United States (just over 1 in 20 cancer diagnoses) were attributable to alcohol use.
However, public awareness is low. According to one survey, Fewer than one-third of women aged 18 to 25 I knew that alcohol consumption increases the risk of breast cancer.
Cancer incidence rates for adults in their 30s increased significantly between 2010 and 2019. The largest increases in 2019 were for breast, thyroid, colon and rectal cancers, according to the report.
Citing numerous published studies documenting the trend, the report said early-onset colorectal cancer – defined as malignant tumors in adults under 50 years of age – increased 1.9% annually between 2011 and 2019.
The good news is that new treatments are helping people with cancer live longer. Death rates for breast cancer are falling in women over 50, and for colorectal cancer in older adults.
But rates of these cancers are rising among young adults, as are rates of stomach and certain blood cancers, the report said. And despite improvements in survival for people with leukemia, melanoma and kidney cancer, the overall incidence of these diseases is increasing.
Although the factors driving the increase in early-onset colorectal cancer are not well understood, many studies have found that frequent and regular alcohol consumption in early and middle adulthood is associated with an increased risk of colon and rectal cancer later in life.
Increased alcohol consumption in midlife and late adulthood also exacerbates the risk. Alcohol has a negative impact on the microbiome, the collection of bacteria, fungi and viruses that live in and on the body, Dr. Figueiredo said.
Drinking alcohol can change the bacteria in your gut, which may affect how cancer grows and spreads.
Alcohol is also thought to increase a woman’s risk of breast cancer because it increases levels of the hormone estrogen, which can accelerate the progression of breast cancer, so reducing alcohol intake is one of the few ways a woman can reduce her risk of breast cancer.
Pregnant women have long been advised to abstain from alcohol for a variety of reasons, but a report from the American Cancer Society has another reason: research shows that consuming alcohol during pregnancy increases the risk of childhood leukemia in children. Both moderate and heavy drinking during pregnancy increases the risk, the study found.
