Table 1 The association between alcohol and alcohol-related cancers
From: ALDH2 polymorphism and alcohol-related cancers in Asians: a public health perspective
Cancer type | Level of association with alcohol | Summary of current literature |
|---|---|---|
Head and neck cancer | Strong | With light drinking, the risk of head and neck cancer increases by 13%, while the risk increases by more than 5 times with heavy drinking [8]. |
Esophageal cancer | Strong | With light drinking, the risk of esophageal cancer increases by 26%, while the risk increases by 5 times with heavy drinking [8]. |
Liver cancer | Strong | Compared to never drinkers, the risk of liver cancer increases by 1.3 times among ever drinkers. With light drinking, the risk of liver cancer increases by 8%, while the risk increases by more than 5 times with heavy drinking [11]. |
Breast cancer | Moderate | Overall, studies agreed that high level of alcohol consumption is associated with an increased breast cancer risk while the risk of breast cancer at low level of alcohol consumption may require further investigation [8, 12, 13] |
Colorectal cancer | Moderate | Light drinking is not associated with colorectal cancer while heavy drinking is associated with a 1.5 times increase in the risk of colorectal cancer [8, 12] |