A major preventable risk factor for cancer, and a new study published in JAMA Network Open has revealed that reducing alcohol intake can reduce the risk of developing alcohol-related cancer. Dr. Neal D. Freedman, Ph.D., and Dr. Christian C. Abnet, Ph.D., of the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics at the National Cancer Institute, Rockville, Maryland, stated that the findings of the study have provided evidence suggesting that cancer risk can be meaningfully altered by changing the number of alcoholic beverages consumed.

The study analyzed the data of 4.5 million adult beneficiaries from the Korean National Health Insurance Service. The study showed that in comparison to those who sustained their alcohol consumption level during the study period, those who increased their consumption level were at a higher risk of alcohol-related cancers and all cancers. The investigators found that the increase in alcohol-related cancer incidence was dose-dependent, i.e., those who changed from nondrinking to mild, moderate, or heavy drinking were at an increasingly higher risk for alcohol-related cancer, compared with those who remained non-drinkers, with the adjusted hazard ratios reported as 1.03, 1.10, and 1.34, respectively.

On the other hand, participants who were mild drinkers at baseline and those who quit drinking were at a lower risk of alcohol-related cancer in comparison to individuals whose drinking level was sustained. Similarly, the authors noted that participants with moderate or heavy drinking levels who quit drinking had a higher overall risk of cancer than those who sustained their drinking level, but the difference was negated when quitting was sustained. In the case of heavy drinkers who reduced their drinking levels, cancer incidence was reduced when compared with those who sustained heavy drinking levels.

(Source: www.medscape.com/viewarticle/979674 )