New study: Just one alcoholic beverage increases risk of cancer
MIAMI – A recently released study by the New England Journal of Medicine concludes that cessation of alcoholic beverage consumption reduces the risk of several cancer diseases.
“Even a single glass per week is sufficient to increase the risk for several types of cancer that are not related to the liver,” said Dr. Mike Cusnir, Chief Oncologist at Mount Sinai Hospital, in Miami Beach. He echoes the results of the recent study about alcohol and cancer, which includes beer, wine and hard liquor. Basically, the data says “No safe amount.”
“In the past, we used to say a single drink of alcohol a day will increase the risk, what we didn’t know is that in the patients that quit completely alcohol, that the risk would go back to the baseline of non-consumers of alcohol beverages.”
According to the study, seven cancers are directly related to consumption of alcohol:
Oral cavity
Esophagus
Larynx
Colorectum
Breast
Pharynx
Liver
Dr. Cusnir says combining alcohol with other substances like smoking increases the risk of cancers even more.
“The data that becomes more important, knowing that we could reverse a risk by just abstinence of alcohol.”
As people get ready to comply with their New Year’s resolutions, whether is exercising more or cutting down on alcohol – zero consumption seems as a challenge for many.
Tips to lower alcohol intake
- Announce your friends and family (about the intention of cessation of consumption of alcohol)
- Track your progress
- Avoid triggers
CBS News Miami’s Ivan Taylor asked Dr. Cusnir, “What happened to the belief that one glass of wine it’s good for your health?”
He responds, “There’s been some data to suggest that alcohol consumption and cardiac disease may behave in a way that is almost a J-curve, which means you may benefit from the cardiac point of view, but then it increases the risk of cancer. ”
The research found that stopping alcohol consumption for a period of five to nine years was shown to reduce oral cancer risk by 34%.
