copied from bbc:
The Europe-wide study of363,988 people reported in theBritish Medical Journal found onein 10 of all cancers in men andone in 33 in women werecaused by past or current alcoholintake.
More than 18% of alcohol-relatedcancers in men and about 4% inwomen were linked to excessivedrinking.The Department of Health said itwas taking action to reduce drinking.
Cancer charities say peopleshould limit their drinking tolower the risk.The study calculated that in 2008current and past drinking habitswere responsible for about13,000 cancer cases in the UK, out of a total of 304,000 cases.
Previous research has shown alink between alcoholconsumption and cancers of theoesophagus, liver, bowel and female breast. When alcohol is broken down by the body it produces a chemical which can damage DNA, increasing the chance of developing cancer.
Glass too far The latest research found that individuals who drank more than two standard drinks a day for men and one drink a day for women were particularly at risk of alcohol-related cancers.
A standard drink contains about12g of alcohol, which is equivalent to a 125ml glass ofwine or a half pint of beer. Yet NHS guidelines are a littlemore relaxed, saying that menshould drink no more than threeto four units a day while womenshould not go above two tothree units a day.Of the cancers known to belinked to alcohol, the researcherssuggest that 40% to 98%occurred in people who drankmore than the recommended maximum.
The results were gathered aspart of a study following 363,988 men and women in eight European countries aged between 35 and 70.The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer study tracked their levels of drinking and how this affected their risk of cancer.
Researchers then looked at figures on how much people drank in each country, including the UK, taken from the WorldHealth Organization.The study focused on France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Greece, Germany, Denmark and the UK.
Madlen Schutze, lead researcherand study author, from the German Institute of Human Nutrition, said that many cancercases could be avoided if alcohol consumption was limited. "And even more cancer cases would be prevented if people reduced their alcohol in take to below recommended guidelinesor stopped drinking alcohol at all," she said. 'Best data' Cancer Research UK director of health information Sara Hiomsaid that many people did not know that drinking alcohol could increase their cancer risk."In the last 10 years, mouthcancer has become much more common and one reason for this could be because of higher levels of drinking - as this study reflects. "Along with being a non-smoker and keeping a healthy body weight, cutting back onalcohol is one of the most important ways of lowering your cancer risk."
Cancer Partners UK medicaldirector Prof Karol Sikora said themessage had to be "drinkoccasionally, but not regularly"."This is the best data we've gotand we're ever likely to get." The take-home message is that the more alcohol you drink, some of the common cancers - the four cancers that have been identified- do increase, and that's worrying. So the message has to be 'look at drinking habits, and reduce.'"
The Department of Health is setto publish an alcohol strategy in the summer.Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, former president of the Royal College of Physicians and chairman of the UK Alcohol Health Alliance, called for tougher regulation to curb alcohol consumption.
He told the BBC: "It is yet another piece of evidence that really leads us to conclude that sitting back and waiting for people to change their habits, perhaps with voluntary partnerships with the drinks industry included in policies, will not bring aboutresults." If we really want to see preventable deaths coming down in the next decade or so, I think there will have to be some form of tougher regulation by government." It is expected to include plans to stop supermarkets selling cheap alcohol and tighten up licensing laws which were relaxed under the previous government.
The Europe-wide study of363,988 people reported in theBritish Medical Journal found onein 10 of all cancers in men andone in 33 in women werecaused by past or current alcoholintake.
More than 18% of alcohol-relatedcancers in men and about 4% inwomen were linked to excessivedrinking.The Department of Health said itwas taking action to reduce drinking.
Cancer charities say peopleshould limit their drinking tolower the risk.The study calculated that in 2008current and past drinking habitswere responsible for about13,000 cancer cases in the UK, out of a total of 304,000 cases.
Previous research has shown alink between alcoholconsumption and cancers of theoesophagus, liver, bowel and female breast. When alcohol is broken down by the body it produces a chemical which can damage DNA, increasing the chance of developing cancer.
Glass too far The latest research found that individuals who drank more than two standard drinks a day for men and one drink a day for women were particularly at risk of alcohol-related cancers.
A standard drink contains about12g of alcohol, which is equivalent to a 125ml glass ofwine or a half pint of beer. Yet NHS guidelines are a littlemore relaxed, saying that menshould drink no more than threeto four units a day while womenshould not go above two tothree units a day.Of the cancers known to belinked to alcohol, the researcherssuggest that 40% to 98%occurred in people who drankmore than the recommended maximum.
The results were gathered aspart of a study following 363,988 men and women in eight European countries aged between 35 and 70.The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer study tracked their levels of drinking and how this affected their risk of cancer.
Researchers then looked at figures on how much people drank in each country, including the UK, taken from the WorldHealth Organization.The study focused on France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Greece, Germany, Denmark and the UK.
Madlen Schutze, lead researcherand study author, from the German Institute of Human Nutrition, said that many cancercases could be avoided if alcohol consumption was limited. "And even more cancer cases would be prevented if people reduced their alcohol in take to below recommended guidelinesor stopped drinking alcohol at all," she said. 'Best data' Cancer Research UK director of health information Sara Hiomsaid that many people did not know that drinking alcohol could increase their cancer risk."In the last 10 years, mouthcancer has become much more common and one reason for this could be because of higher levels of drinking - as this study reflects. "Along with being a non-smoker and keeping a healthy body weight, cutting back onalcohol is one of the most important ways of lowering your cancer risk."
Cancer Partners UK medicaldirector Prof Karol Sikora said themessage had to be "drinkoccasionally, but not regularly"."This is the best data we've gotand we're ever likely to get." The take-home message is that the more alcohol you drink, some of the common cancers - the four cancers that have been identified- do increase, and that's worrying. So the message has to be 'look at drinking habits, and reduce.'"
The Department of Health is setto publish an alcohol strategy in the summer.Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, former president of the Royal College of Physicians and chairman of the UK Alcohol Health Alliance, called for tougher regulation to curb alcohol consumption.
He told the BBC: "It is yet another piece of evidence that really leads us to conclude that sitting back and waiting for people to change their habits, perhaps with voluntary partnerships with the drinks industry included in policies, will not bring aboutresults." If we really want to see preventable deaths coming down in the next decade or so, I think there will have to be some form of tougher regulation by government." It is expected to include plans to stop supermarkets selling cheap alcohol and tighten up licensing laws which were relaxed under the previous government.
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